

































































/ 








COUNTIES of 
TENNESSEE 


By AUSTIN P. FOSTER, A.M 

Assistant State Librarian and Archivist 












COUNTIES 


OF -.•---= 

TENNESSEE 


f 

/ 

By AUSTIN P. FOSTER, A.M. 

Assistant State Librarian and Archivist 


DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, DIVISION OF HISTORY 
STATE OF TENNESSEE 


7 930 


P. L HARNED Commissioner, Department of Education 













* 




a 


Copyright, 1923 


DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, DIVISION OF HISTORY 

State of Tennessee 



C1A7G5343 




l A 1923 


s\\ © 


V" 




INDEX 


Page 


Anderson County . 

Bedford County . 

Benton County .. 

Bledsoe County. 

Blount County. 

Bradley County. 

Campbell County . 

Cannon County . 

Carroll County . 

Carter County . 

Cheatham County. 

Chester County. 

Claiborne County . 

Clay County . 

Cooke County. 

Coffee County . 

Chester County. 

Crockett County . 

Counties of Tennessee 
Cumberland County ... 

Davidson County . 

Decatur County . 

DeKalb County. 

Dickson County . 

Dyer County . 

East Tennessee. 

Fayette County. 

Fentress County . 

Franklin County. 

Gibson County. 

Giles County .'.. 

Grainger County. 

Greene County . 

Grundy County . 

Hamblin County. 

Hamilton County . 

Hancock County . 

Hardeman County . 

Hardin County . 

Hawkins County . 

Haywood County . 

Henderson County . 

Henry County . 

Hickman County . 

Houston County . 

Humphreys County ... 

Jackson County . 

Jefferson County . 

Johnson County . 

Knox County . 


5 

46 
101 

6 

. 6 

7 

9 

47 
.102 
. 10 
. 49 
.103 
. 11 
. 50 
. 12 
. 51 
.103 
103 
. 4 
. 12 
. 52 
.104 
. 54 
. 55 
105 
. 5 
.106 
. 57 
. 58 
.107 
. 59 
. 13 
. 14 
. 61 
. 15 
. 16 
. 20 
.108 
.109 
. 21 
.111 
.112 
.112 
. 62 
. 63 
. 64 
. 65 
. 22 
. 23 
. 24 


Page 

Lake County .114 

Lauderdale County .114 

Lawrence County.. 65 

Lewis County . 66 

Lincoln County . 67 

Loudon County . 26 

McMinn County . 27 

McNairy County .117 

Macon County . 68 

Madison County .115 

Marion County . 28 

Marshall County . 69 

Maury County. 70 

Meigs County . 29 

Middle Tennessee . 46 

Monroe County . 30 

Montgomery County . 72 

Moore County . 75 

Morgan County. 32 

Obion County.118 

Overton County . 76 

Perry County. 77 

Pickett County . 78 

Polk County. 33 

Preface . 3 

Putnam County . 78 

Rhea County . 34 

Roane County . 35 

Robertson County . 80 

Rutherford County . 81 

Scott County . 37 

Sequatchie County. 38 

Sevier County . 39 

Shelby County.119 

Smith County . 83 

Stewart County . 85 

Sullivan County . 40 

Sumner County. 86 

Tipton County .122 

Trousdale County . 89 

Unicoi County . 42 

Union County . 43 

Van Buren County . 90 

Warren County. 90 

Washington County. 44 

Wayne County . 92 

Weakley County .123 

West Tennessee .101 

White County . 93 

Williamson County . 94 

Wilson County. 97 














































































































PREFACE 


T HIS book is not a history of Tennessee. It is, however, 
supplementary to the history of the state, for it gives 
historical and statistical facts, which are of general in¬ 
terest throughout the state and of particular interest to the 
people of the several counties. The purpose of the book is to 
enable the student, the investigator, and the casual searcher 
after information regarding our counties, to secure the salient 
points desired in a minimum of time. For this reason the in¬ 
formation is given as laconically as is consistent with clear¬ 
ness. Moreover, this brevity is rendered necessary by the 
limitations of the book itself. 

As only the most important historical events of the coun¬ 
ties are given, those persons whose requirements demand a 
more detailed narrative of any county than is here given should 
consult the published history of that county, if it has ap¬ 
peared in book form. Unfortunately very few have so ap¬ 
peared. This fact is the more regrettable because every county 
in Tennessee is so rich in historical material that a book of 
good size could be written concerning it. For some, indeed, 
several volumes would be required for exhaustive exposition. 

The statistics are from the United States census reports 
of 1920. 

The preparation of this book has been rendered desirable, 
if not necessary, by the investigations instigated and prosecut¬ 
ed in the State Library with the assistance of the force of the 
Library and of the Division of History, in which investiga¬ 
tions questions in regard to the counties of the state are con¬ 
stantly arising. Coupled with this condition are the numerous 
letters of inquiry asking for information concerning the coun¬ 
ties which required research each time in order to answer. It 
is hoped, therefore, that this little book will meet a real want 
not heretofore supplied. 


A. P. FOSTER. 


COUNTIES OF TENNESSEE 


P OLITICALLY, Tennessee is divided into three Grand 
Divisions—East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and West 
Tennessee. The counties of East Tennessee are: Ander¬ 
son, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, 
Cocke, Cumberland, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, 
Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, Marion, 
McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea, Roane, Scott, 
Sequatchie, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, Union, Washington—34. 

The counties of Middle Tennessee are: Bedford, Cannon, 
Cheatham, Clay, Coffee, Davidson, DeKalb, Dickson, Fentress, 
Franklin, Giles, Grundy, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, 
Jackson, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Macon, Marshall, Maury, 
Montgomery, Moore, Overton, Perry, Pickett, Putnam, Rob¬ 
ertson, Rutherford, Smith, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, Van 
Buren, Warren, Wayne, White, Williamson, Wilson—40. 

The counties of West Tennessee are: Benton, Carroll, 
Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, 
Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Mad¬ 
ison, McNairy, Obion, Shelby, Tipton, Weakley—21. 


EAST TENNESSEE 


ANDERSON COUNTY 


A NDERSON COUNTY, named in honor of Judge Joseph 
Anderson,f was created by Act of the General Assem¬ 
bly, November 6, 1801. It was formed from parts of 
Knox and Grainger counties. It lies partly in the valley of 
East Tennessee and partly on the Cumberland plateau. It 
contains about 450 square miles. 

Settlements began in this county about the year 1800 prin¬ 
cipally by David Hall, Wm. Tunnell, Isaac Coward, Wm. 
Hogshead, John Chiles, Joseph Hart, Thomas Hart, Joseph 
Black, Joshua Frost, Collins Roberts, John Garner, Aaron 
Slover, John Gibbs, Robert Ross, and John Wilson. 

The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was organized 
on December 15, 1801, at the house of John Denham, Sr. The 
justices of this court were: Hugh Montgomery, Wm. Under¬ 
wood, Frederick Miller, James Grant, John Kirby, Wm. Mc- 
Kamy, Joseph Sinclair, James Butler, Wm. Standifer, and 
Solomon Massingale. Wm. Hogshead, who began practice 
about 1802, was the first lawyer of the county. 

The county seat was first named Burrville, in honor of 
Aaron Burr. By act of the Legislature, in 1809, the name was 
changed to Clinton in honor of DeWitt Clinton. The site of 
Clinton was first owned by John Leib, and the lands surround¬ 
ing it were settled by a colony of Germans, among whom were 
John Clodfelter, George Bumgartener, and John Leinart. Be¬ 
sides the Germans there were: John McWhirter, John Suther¬ 
land, Stephen Bradley, Richard Luallen, James Kirkpatrick, 
Robert Kirkpatrick, and those mentioned above. 

The greater part of the wealth of Anderson County is in 
its coal and timber lands. Many large mines are in operation. 

Statistics of Anderson County: Population, 1920, 18,298. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $8,701,767. Area, 
about 360 square miles. Number of farms, 1,677. Railway 
mileage, 78. County drained by Clinch and Powell Rivers. 
Its valleys are very fertile. Staple products: wheat, corn, and 
oats. Live stock industry is very flourishing. County seat, 
Clinton, about 22 miles northwest of Knoxville; population, 
1,409. Has churches, schools, weekly newspaper, two banks, 


fOne of the three judges of the Southwest Territory and successor to 
William Blount as U. S. Senator, when the latter was expelled from the Senate. 




6 


Counties of Tennessee 


enterprising mercantile establishments, several flourishing 
mills, and other industries. Coal Creek has a population of 
1,204. Scholastic population of county, 6,512; high schools, 
7; elementary schools, 55. 


BLEDSOE COUNTY 

B LEDSOE COUNTY was named in honor of Abraham 
Bledsoe and was created out of Roane County by act of 
the Legislature on Nov. 30, 1807. The original county 
seat was known as Old Madison, six miles from Dunlap and 
fifteen miles from Pikeville, the present county seat. The first 
court in the county was held at the residence of a Mr. Thomas. 
The country surrounding Pikeville is a fine agricultural region. 
There have been three colleges in or near Pikeville—the Peo¬ 
ple’s College, Bledsoe College, and Sequatchie College, the 
first named of which was chartered in 1871. Sequatchie Col¬ 
lege was chartered in 1870. Mineral springs, iron ore, and 
coal are abundant. 


Statistics of Bledsoe County: population, 1920, 7,218. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $4,368,308. Area, 
300 square miles. Number of farms, 1,060. Railway mileage, 
15. Drained by Sequatchie River and tributaries. Surface 
somewhat mountainous. Live stock, fruits, and grain crops 
are principle products. Pasturage excellent. Large areas of 
fine timber. Corn, oats, and wheat are successfully grown. 
Coal and limestone abound. Pikeville is the county seat; 
population, 488. Churches, schools, and weekly newspaper, 
bank and flourishing business establishments. Scholastic pop¬ 
ulation, 2,946; high schools, 2; elementary schools, 38. 


BLOUNT COUNTY 


B LOUNT COUNTY is one of the oldest counties in the 
state, having been erected by the Territorial Legislature 
on July 11, 1795. It was named for Wm. Blount who was, 
at that time, the governor of Southwest Territory. It was 
carved out of Knox County. Its county seat, Maryville, was 
named for Mary (Grainger) Blount, wife of Gov. William 
Blount. Its early settlers came principally from Virginia and 
North Carolina; among them was the mother of Sam Houston, 
who settled near Maryville in 1806. The settlement of the 
county really began in 1785, although pioneers had come in 
some years previously. Among the early settlers were the 





Counties of Tennessee 


7 


Bogles, McCroskeys, McCullochs, Boyds, Cunninghams, Tip- 
tons, McGaugheys, and McMuarrays. They were greatly 
harassed by the Indians. 

The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was organized 
on the second Monday in September, 1795, at the house of 
William Weaver. Early lawyers were: John Lowery, Samuel 
Glass, John Wilkinson, John Garner, and Enoch Parsons. 
Parsons was defeated for governor, in 1819, by McMinn. 
Maryville College, one of the best institutions for higher 
learning in the state, was founded by Rev. Isaac Anderson. 

Statistics of Blount County: population, 1920, 28,800. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $25,370,192. Area, 
614 square miles. Number of farms, 2,601. Railway mileage, 
98. Drained by the Holston and Little Tennessee Rivers, 
former navigable for boats. Surface, mountainous with fertile 
valleys, which abundantly produce wheat, corn, oats, fruit, and 
live stock. Blount County has more pure-bred Aberdeen- 
Angus cattle than any other county south of the Ohio River, 
and many fine herds of pure-bred Poland China hogs. Over 600 
silos in the county. Forests of oak and pine. Marble and 
iron are mined. County seat, Maryville, on railroad; popula¬ 
tion, 3,739. Has fine schools, two weekly newspapers, three 
banks, fine churches, and many flourishing industries. Alcoa 
and Townsend are other prosperous towns. Alcoa has a popu¬ 
lation of 3,338. Aluminum plant, hosiery mill, foundry, casket 
factory, 3 woodworking factories, and tannery are among the 
leading industries of the county. B. R. Cramer is president of 
the Maryville— Alcoa Chamber of Commerce. Private schools 
of county are Maryville College, Maryville Polytechnic, and 
Friendsville Academy. Scholastic population, 10,079; high 
schools, 2; elementary schools, 86. 


BRADLEY COUNTY 

B RADLEY COUNTY, named in honor of Col. Edward 
Bradley of Shelby. County, was established by act of the 
Legislature in £835. The surface of the county is made 
up of long valleys ruflhing from northeast to southwest with 
ridges between them. In it is a vast amount of water power, 
a part of which has been harnessed for commercial use in the 
Ocoee hydro-electric plant established by the Tennessee 

Power Company. . , . . , .. 

The entire section, of which this county is a part, "was the 





8 


Counties of Tennessee 


scene of many bloody battles with the Indians in the early 
pioneer days. In 1819, an agency known as the Cherokee 
Agency was established on the present site of the city of 
Charleston, following a treaty with the Cherokee Indians, and 
Return J. Meigs was appointed the first agent. He held this 
position until 1823, when he was succeeded by Joseph McMinn, 
who, in 1821, had completed his third successive term as gov¬ 
ernor. McMinn died in 1824 and was succeeded by Hugh 
Montgomery. Simultaneously with the establishment of the 
Indian agency, Lewis Ross, brother of John Ross, the famous 
Cherokee Chief, established a store at the agency and re¬ 
mained there until the removal of the Indians in 1838. His 
wife was a Miss Holt from Virginia. Will T. Hale says: 
“Previous to 1832 several white men were married to Chero- 
kees, or half breeds, throughout the section. Encroachments 
were made by the whites in 1832, leading the Indians to be¬ 
lieve they would have to abandon their lands. For a con¬ 
sideration some of them proposed to cede their holdings. 
Chief John Ross and a large following opposed this move¬ 
ment. Major Ridge, his son John, Elias Boudinotte, James 
Starr, William Rodgers, John Rodgers, and John Watkins, 
Jr., were in favor of the session, and in 1834, without the 
sanction of Ross, ceded the lands to the United States. A 
feud resulted. The first victim was Walker, a well-educated 
half breed, who, in 1824, had married Miss Emily J. Meigs, a 
daughter of Return J. Meigs, who lived on a farm just north 
of the present Cleveland.” 

“Surveying the Ocoee district was begun in 1837. In 
November, 1838, Luke Lea was made entry taker, his office 
being opened at Cleveland. For the first four months the 
price of land was $7.50 per acre; in the next few months the 
price was reduced, until in 1841 it sold at one cent per acre. 
Settlers came in rapidly. 

“One of the first preachers was Dr. J. B. McFerrin. 
Judge Charles J. Keith, in 1836, organized the first court. 
Among the first lawyers were George W. Rawles, Monroe 
Campbell, and Levi Trewhitt.” 

Statistics of Bradley County: population, 1920, 18,652. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $11,461,376. 
Area, 280 square miles. Number of farms, 1,836. Railway 
mileage, 35. Drained by Hiwassee River and tributaries. Sur¬ 
face, hilly and well timbered and soil fertile. Wheat, corn, 
and live stock are the leading products; and the county is 
rapidly coming to the front in fruit growing, especially ap¬ 
ples, peaches, and strawberries. Soil and climate well adapt- 



Counties of Tennessee 


9 


ed to all kinds of fruits. Cleveland, county seat, is on the 
Southern Railway, 29 miles northeast of Chattanooga; popu¬ 
lation, 6,522; well supplied with churches and schools; has a 
large woolen mill and trousers factory, stove foundry, coffin 
factory, electric light plant, four banks, two weekly news¬ 
papers, and a large number of flourishing mercantile estab¬ 
lishments. Charleston, Tasso, and McDonald are other towns 
of Bradley County. Scholastic population of county, 6,936; 
high schools, 6; elementary schools, 53. 


CAMPBELL COUNTY 

C AMPBELL COUNTY was erected on September 11, 
1806, out of Anderson and Claiborne Counties and was 
named for Col. Arthur Campbell. Powell’s Valley,* 
famous in the early annals of the state, runs through the en¬ 
tire county on the eastern side. The Court of Pleas and Quar¬ 
ter Sessions was organized at the house of Richard Linville on 
the first Monday in December, 1806. Settlements had been 
made, however, ten or more years previously. The site of 
Jonesboro, the county seat, was owned by Hugh Montgomery, 
one of the earliest pioneers. His son, Col. L. P. Montgomery,! 
was killed in the battle of Tohopeka, or Horseshoe Bend in the 
Creek War. 

William Lindsay built the first iron furnace in the county. 
This was for George Baker. But later he built others which 
were very successful for that time. 

Statistics for Campbell County: population, 1920, 28,265. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $12,919,026. 
Area, 488 square miles. Number of farms, 1, 892. Railway 
mileage, 89. Drained by Clinch River and tributaries of Cum¬ 
berland River. Surface, mountainous and covered with fine 
forests. Staple products: corn, oats, and grass. Well adapted 
to live stock industry, which is increasing in importance. Rich 
coal deposits are found in the county. Jacksboro, county seat, 
has a population of 638 and is 33 miles from Knoxville. Coal 
mines are in operation near Jacksboro. Has general stores, 
churches, schools, a bank, and weekly newspaper. Lafollette, 
with a population of 3,056, is a flourishing town, with mining 
industries, banks, weekly newspaper. One of the largest iron 
furnaces in the South is in operation there. Jellico City, with 
a population of 1,878, is another flourishing town in the county. 

” *North Carolina gave Richard Henderson 200,000 acres in this valley as a 
reward for his colonization services. 

fMontgomery, Alabama, was named for him. 






10 


Counties of Tennessee 


Scholastic population of county, 11,005; high schools, 9; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 80. 


CARTER COUNTY 

C ARTER COUNTY was the first county erected by the 
first General Assembly of Tennessee in April, 1796, be¬ 
fore the state was admitted into the Union, June 1, 1796. 
It was taken from Washington County, the oldest county in 
the state and was named for Eandon Carter, son of John Carter. 
The county seat, Elizabethton, was named in honor of his wife, 
Elizabeth. William Been, the first permanent settler, and 
other pioneers located on or near the Watauga River in this 
county. In this valley homes were established by Valentine 
Sevier, Sr., father of John Sevier, James Robertson, and James 
P. Taylor, grandfather of Robert E. and Alfred A. Taylor. It 
is said that James P. Taylor was one of the greatest orators of 
his time, as well as eminent as a lawyer. His brother-in-law 
was Thomas D. Love, for whom Robert Love Taylor was given 
his middle name. 

The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was probably or¬ 
ganized on July 4, 1776, at the home of Samuel Tipton. The 
justices of the peace present were: Andrew Greer,* Landon 
Carter, Nathaniel Taylor, David McNabb, Lochonal Campbell, 
Guttredge Garland, John Vaught, Joseph Lands, and Reuben 
Thornton. 

Statistics of Carter County: population, 1920, 21,488. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,993,976. Area, 
298 square miles. Number of farms, 2,717. Railway mileage, 
83. Drained by Watauga River. Surface, mountainous with 
fertile valleys and well timbered. Corn, oats, grass, and live 
stock are the staple products. An abundance of iron ore is 
found in the county. Elizabethton, the county seat, has a 
population of 2,749. Has three banks, a weekly newspaper, 
grist, saw, and woolen mills, good churches and schools; iron 
works in vicinity. Scholastic population of county, 7,712 ; high 
schools, 13, elementary schools, 49. 


•Father of Joseph Greer, the King’s Mountain messenger. 






Counties of Tennessee 


11 


CLAIBORNE COUNTY 


C LAIBORNE COUNTY was erected on October 29, 1801, 
and was named for Wm. C. C. Claiborne.f It was 
formed from Grainger and Hawkins Counties. The 
Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was organized at the 
house of John Ownes on December 7, 1801, at which time the 
following-named justices of the peace, appointed by Governor 
Roane, were qualified: Isaac Lane, Joseph Webster, William 
Trent, James Chisum, Abraham Lenham, John Wallen, Mat¬ 
thew Sims, John Vanbibber, William Rogers, George Read, C. 
Newport, John Casey, Joseph Nations, and James Renfro. The 
courts were held at the houses of magistrates until 1804, when 
a small courthouse was erected. Cumberland Gap, famous in 
history, is in this county. Through this gateway in the moun¬ 
tains the pioneers of the early days passed from Virginia, 
North Carolina, and East Tennessee into Kentucky. The first 
officers of this court were: Walter Evans, clerk of the court; 
John Hunt, sheriff; Ezekial Craft, register; Luke or Lew 
Boyer, or Bowyer, solicitor; Nathaniel Austin, ranger; John 
Sumpter, constable. 

The circuit court was organized in April, 1810, by William 
Cocke. 

The first settlements in the county were made at Big 
Springs, near Sycamore Creek, in 1794-1795, in Powell’s Val¬ 
ley, and along Clinch River. 

Tazewell, the county seat, was laid out probably in 1802 or 
1803, when the first house in this place was erected. The first 
merchant was William Graham, who erected the first church. 

On October 14, 1802, Bishop Asbury preached “at Hunt’s 
at Claiborne Courthouse.” 

Statistics of Claiborne County: population, 1920, 23,286. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $8,549,141. Area, 
472 square miles. Number of farms, 3,022. Railway mileage, 
37. Drained by the Powell and Clinch Rivers. Surface, gen¬ 
erally mountainous and covered with timber. Soil in valleys 
very fertile. Wheat, corn, oats, and grass are staple products, 
and the live stock industry is flourishing. Iron, zinc, and lead 
ores are found in the county, and coal is also mined. Tazewell, 
the county seat, has a population of 424. Other towns in the 
county are New Tazewell, Lone Mountain, Hoop, and Hart- 
ranft. Tazewell has a bank, schools, churches, and a weekly 
newspaper. Scholastic population, 8,994, high schools, 2 , ele¬ 
mentary schools, 100. 

fOne of the first judges of the superior court and one of the first representa¬ 
tives in Congress from Tennessee. 




12 


Counties of Tennessee 


COCKE COUNTY 


OCKE COUNTY was erected on October 9, 1797, and 



named in honor of William Cocke .t It was carved out 


of Jefferson County. The first settlements were made 
along the Nollichucky River in 1783. Among the early settlers 
were: George McNutt, John McNabb, John Gilliland, William 
Lillard, Samuel Odell, and Daniel Adams. For the first ten 
years the Indians gave them much trouble. The first church 
was organized by the Baptists in 1794, about a year after the 
Indian depredations ceased. Eminent lawyers of the early 
days were: Thomas Gray, William Garrett, and Tilghman A. 
Howard, the last-named of whom moved to Indiana and be¬ 
came a well-known general in the Civil War. 

Statistics of Cocke County: population, 1920, 20,782. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $11,402,158. Area, 
458 square miles. Number of farms, 2,800. Railway mileage, 
48. Drained by the French Broad and Nollichucky Rivers. 
Smoky Mountain extends along the southeastern border of the 
county, and this section is covered with timber. Soil in valleys 
is very fertile. The staple products are: corn, wheat, grass, 
and live stock. Newport, the county seat, is on the Southern 
Railway, 50 miles east of Knoxville; has a population of 2,753, 
several churches and schools, two weekly newspapers, two 
banks, cotton and flour mills, and a canning establishment, the 
largest of its kind in the South. Scholastic population of the 
county, 6,652; high schools, 1; elementary schools, 86. 


CUMBERLAND COUNTY 

UMBERLAND COUNTY was erected in 1856 from 
parts of White, Van Buren, Bledsoe, Rhea, Roane, Mor¬ 



gan, and Putnam. It was named for the Cumberland 
Mountains, on whose crest it lies; and they, as well as the 
Cumberland River, were named by Dr. Thomas Walker in 
honor of the Duke of Cumberland. The first county court was 
held at Crossville, the county seat, located near the center of 
the county. 

The fruits and vegetables of this county, as well as the 
mountain counties, generally, possess peculiar excellences of 
freedom from insect pests as well as beauty and flavor. As 
early as the founding of the county itself this fact was known; 


JHe and William Blount were the first U. S. Senators from Tennessee. 





Counties of Tennessee 


18 


and J. W. Dodge, who lived near Crossville, took many prizes 
for his apples. 

Statistics of Cumberland County: population, 1920, 10,094. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $5,232,844. Area, 
nearly 800 square miles. Number of farms, 1,267. Railway 
mileage, 58. Situated centrally upon the Cumberland Plateau 
at an average elevation of nearly 2,000 feet. It is drained by 
the affluents of both the Cumberland and the Tennessee Rivers. 
The surface is gently undulating, generally covered with tim¬ 
ber. Luxuriant native grasses make it one of the best counties 
in the state for grazing cattle. There are many deposits of 
coal in the county and several mines are in operation. Land 
is excellently adapted to truck and fruit growing. Soil es¬ 
pecially suited to Irish potatoes. Crossville, the county seat, 
with a population of 948, is on the Tennessee Central Railway. 
It has good churches, schools, a bank, a weekly newspaper, 
and is the center of rapidly developing coal and timber in¬ 
dustries. Scholastic population of county, 3,855; high schools, 
1; elementary school, 59. 


GRAINGER COUNTY 


RAINGER COUNTY was the second county created by 
the first Legislature on April 22, 1796. It was named in 



honor of Mrs. William Blount, whose maiden name was 
Mary Grainger. It was formed from Hawkins and Knox 
Counties. The county seat is Rutledge, named for George 
Rutledge, a prominent pioneer. Some of the pioneers were: 
Col. James Ore,* the Senters, Crabtrees, Hendersons, Taylors, 
Johnsons, Bassetts, Lebons, Lowes, Jarnagans, and Tates. 
Settlement began about 1784. 

The county seat was not located until 1801 when the court¬ 
house was erected. But the county court was organized on 
June 13, 1796 (less than two months after the county was 
created) at the house of Benjamin McCarty, with the follow¬ 
ing-named magistrates appointed by Governor Sevier: Thomas 
Henderson, Elijah Chisum, James Blair, John Estes, Phelps 
Read, Benjamin McCarty, James Moore, John Bowen, John 
Kidwell, John Sims, William Thompson, and Major Lea. 

Statistics of Grainger County: population, 1921, 13,369. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $5,980,954. Area, 
300 square miles. Number of farms, 2,257. Railway mileage, 
47. Drained by Clinch and Holston Rivers. Has a high ridge 


♦He commanded the expedition from the Cumberland settlements against the 
Indians at Nickajack Cave and Running Water in 1794. 






14 


Counties of Tennessee 


surface called Clinch Mountain. County is well timbered; soil 
in valleys very fertile. Corn, oats, wheat, grass, and live stock 
are the staple products. Fine iron ore deposits are found in 
the county. County has ample railway mileage. Tate Spring 
and other noted mineral springs are in this county. Rutledge, 
the county seat, is near the base of Clinch Mountain, about 
33 miles northeast of Knoxville, and has a population of about 
600, two banks, schools, churches, weekly newspaper, and 
flourishing business establishments. Other towns are Wash¬ 
burn, Noeton, and Idol. Scholastic population of county, 4,480; 
high schools, 5; elementary schools, 56. 


GREENE COUNTY 


G REENE COUNTY was created by the State of North 
Carolina from a part of Washington County in April 1783, 
and was named in honor of Gen. Nathaniel Greene.f Set¬ 
tlements were begun in 1778, or earlier. Some of the early set¬ 
tlers were: Anthony Moore, who located near Henderson’s 
Station, Daniel Kennedy, and Henry Earnest who were greatly 
interested in the establishment of the Methodist Church named 
Ebenezer, said to be the first organization of this sect in the 
State of Tennessee. It was located on the Nollichucky River. 

On the third Monday in August, 1783, the Court of Pleas 
and Quarter Sessions was organized at the house of Robert 
Carr, near the Big Spring, in Greeneville. The magistrates 
present were: Joseph Hardin, John Newman, George Dougher¬ 
ty, James Houston, Amos Bird, and Asahel Rawlings. 

From the very beginning much attention was paid to edu¬ 
cation. Greeneville College, founded by Hezekiah Balch, was 
chartered in 1794, and Tusculum College was established in 
1818 by Dr. Samuel Doak. Some Quakers settled in this 
county, many of whom became greatly interested in emancipa¬ 
tion of slaves. 

Statistics of Greene County: population, 1920, 32,824. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $20,501,539. Area, 
580 square miles. Number of farms, 5, 313. Railway mileage, 
31. Drained by Nollichucky River and Lick Creek. Surface 
partly mountainous and well timbered. Valleys are very fertile. 
Staple products are: corn, wheat, oats, grass, tobacco, and live 
stock. The tobacco industry has developed rapidly in the last 
few years, a fine quality of burley being produced. The South¬ 
ern Railway intersects the county. Fine deposits of limestone 


fNorth Carolina also gave him 25.000 acres of land, located in Maury County. 





Counties of Tennessee 


15 


and iron are found in the county. Greeneville, the county seat, 
has a population of 3,775 and is on the Southern Railway. 
Greeneville is a large tobacco market with six large ware¬ 
houses, four banks, hosiery mill, chair factory, two wagon fac¬ 
tories, tobacco factory, stemmery and redrying plant, one of 
the largest proprietary medicine concerns in the South, three 
flour mills and other industries, a weekly and adailynewspaper. 
Other towns are: Baileyton, Mosheim, Chuckey, and Midway. 
There are several commercial organizations, including the Bur¬ 
ley Association, C. H. Bewlry, secretary; Rotary Club, J. H. 
Rader, secretary. Greene County has 300 miles of pike roads 
and 200 miles of graded roads. The county is very progres¬ 
sive in educational matters, having five Presbyterian mission 
schools, Tusculum College, and private schools in Greeneville. 
The public school system is said to be one of the finest in the 
state. Scholastic population of county, 12,895; high schools 
8; elementary schools, 100. 


HAMBLEN COUNTY 


H AMBLEN COUNTY was created on May 31, 1870, and 
was named for Hezekiah Hamblen. It was formed from 
parts of Grainger, Jefferson, and Hawkins Counties. The 
first settlement in what is now Hamblen County was made by 
Robert McFarland and Alexander Outlaw in 1783. They lo¬ 
cated at the “bend” of the Nollichucky. 

One of the historic spots in this county is “Hayslope,” the 
handsome old home of one of the pioneer settlers, Col. James 
Roddye, one of the signers of the first Constitution of Ten¬ 
nessee. The town of Russellville is built on a tract of land 
awarded Colonel Roddye for service in the Battle of Kings 
Mountain, and was named for his second wife, Miss Russell. 

Morristown was named for the Morris family of whom 
three brothers, Gideon, Daniel, and Absalom, settled near it, 
having gone thither from their former home on the Watauga. 

Through the territory now included in Hamblen extended 
the stage road from Knoxville to Abingdon, Va., which road 
was constructed as early as 1793; and along this road most of 
the settlers located, among them William Chaney, Thomas 
Daggett, Phelps Redd, Richard Thompson, Isaac Martin, and 
John Crockett, father of David Crockett. 

On October 3, 1770, the county court was organized in an 
old storehouse in Morristown. The magistrates present were: 
S. P. Nixon, L. D. Milligan, L. F. Leiper, C. L. Gregory, 




16 


Counties of Tennessee 


George McFarland, R. M. Hamblen, A. J. Donelson, Alexander 
Williams, Jonathan Noe, G. W. Carmichael, C. J. Burnett, 
D. S. Noe, R. P. Sharp, William Felkner, S. M. Heath, James 
Hale, W. B. Ninnie, S. J. Couch, I. P. Haun, and Samuel Smith. 

Statistics of Hamblen County: population, 1920, 15,056. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $11,184,675. 
Area, 150 square miles. Number of farms, 1,564. Railway 
mileage, 31. Drained by the Holston and French Broad 
Rivers. The surface is undulating and the soil fertile. The 
Southern Railway intersects the county. Principal products 
are grass, fruit, live stock, and poultry. It is one of the best 
fruit counties in the eastern section of the state, and the poultry 
industry is also of large proportions, Morristown, the county 
seat, being one of the largest poultry markets in the South. 
Morristown, on the Southern Railway and the Holston River, 
has a population of 5,875, has splendid churches and schools, 
daily and weekly newspapers, three banks, manufacturing es¬ 
tablishments, and prosperous mercantile concerns. Scholastic 
population of the county, 5,416; high schools, 5; elementary 
schools, 35. 


HAMILTON COUNTY 


H AMILTON COUNTY was erected out of Rhea County 
by the act of the Legislature passed on October 25, 1819, 
“that the territory southwest of Rhea and south and 
east of Bledsoe and Marion Counties should constitute a 
county by the name of Hamilton, in honor and to perpetuate 
the memory of the late Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the 
Treasury of the United States.” The act recites the boundaries 
of the new county which, of course, were somewhat changed 
when James County was carved out of portions of Hamilton 
and Bradley Counties on January 27, 1871. On April 14, 1919, 
however, an act* was passed abolishing James County and 
transferring to Hamilton the territory formerly embraced in 
James County. 

About half of Hamilton County, when first formed, and all 
of the county on the left bank of the Tennessee River lay with¬ 
in the territory of the Cherokee nation. The Indian title was 
extinguished by a treaty concluded between the United States 
and the Cherokees on December 29, 1835. 

The county seat was first established at Dallas, but, by an 
election in 1840, the seat was transferred to Harrison, named 
after Gen. William H. Harrison, subsequently elected Presi- 


•Private Act* of 1919, Chapter 695, p. 2129. 





17 


Counties of Tennessee 


dent. By an election in November, 1870, the county seat was 
transferred from Harrison to Chattanooga. 

Prof. J. B. Brown, State Superintendent of Public Instruc¬ 
tion, 1921-1923, in an article published in the Nashville Ameri¬ 
can on June 26, 1910, said of Hamilton County, besides other 
things: 

The topography of the county is exceedingly varied. The 
larger portion toward the northwest is mountainous and wild, 
while the remainder, about two-fifths, is for the most part 
lowland, lying in the valley of the Tennessee River or of some 
of its tributaries from the northwest. Walden’s Ridge and 
Raccoon Mountain occupy a small portion of the western 
border. Missionary Ridge, rising to a height of 500 feet above 
the valley, Walden’s Ridge, 1,500 feet, and Lookout Mountain 
to a maximum height of 1,700 feet above the low water in the 
Tennessee are the chief elevations of the county. The climate 
of Hamilton County averages 42 degrees in winter, 72 degrees 
in summer, and 60 degrees in spring and autumn. 

“The geology of the county is very simple, but very in¬ 
teresting from an economical point of view. Many formations 
are present in the county, some of the strata belonging to the 
very early formations. Limestone predominates, existing in 
many forms. The coal and iron deposits are most important. 
Coal is found in great abundance in Raccoon Mountain, 
Walden’s Ridge, and Lookout Mountain. 

“The natural products of the forests are greatly varied. 
The oak, the most abundant growth, is found throughout the 
county; other kinds of timber that grow plentifully are the 
ash, black walnut, beech, birch, cherry, cedar, hickory, maple, 
and white and yellow poplar. The short-leaf yellow pine is 
also found in some portions of the county. Clover and differ¬ 
ent varieties of h^rds-grass grow luxuriantly. The leading 
crops are corn, wheat, potatoes, broom corn, sorghum—all of 
which grow to perfection in this climate. 

“Garden vegetables and horticultural products of all kinds, 
except some varieties of the grape, find here a congenial soil 
and atmosphere. 

“It is believed to be true that the first settlers of this county 
were Scotchmen, who came here immediately after the close 
of the Revolutionary War. Many of them married Indian 
wives and were incorporated into the Cherokee Nation. The 
name of Daniel Rose is one of the very first associated with the 
history of Hamilton County. Others are: Robert Patterson, 
Patrick Martin, William Lauderdale, and Charles Gamble, who 
became the first sheriff. 




18 


Counties of Tennessee 


“Others who belonged to a later period are: Hasten Poe, 
Asahel Rawlings, James Cozby, John Russell, Joseph Rogers, 
David Beck, John Brown, John Taylor, Nimrod Moore, Jack- 
son Jenkins, Jonathan Springer, D. R. Rawlings, William 
Walker, and Crispian Eli Shelton.” 

Chattanooga 

The country around Chattanooga was occupied by the 
Cherokee Indians until the year 1837, when a post office was 
first established at that point which was then called Ross’ 
Landing, after either Chief John Ross* or his brother who 
established a store there. In that same year a town was laid 
off and divided into lots and the name Chattanooga was given 
to it. It was incorporated as a town in 1841 and as a city in 
1851. 

The meaning of the name Chattanooga has been a mooted 
question for many years. Most historians and others say it 
means “Eagle’s nest.” In the Chattanooga Daily Times of 
July 1, 1903, appeared an article written by Miss Zella Arm¬ 
strong on the origin and meaning of the word Chattanooga. 
In it she said: 

“In a correspondence with the Hon. Joshua Ross concern¬ 
ing his distinguished uncle, Chief John, who left his impress 
deep upon this historic country, I inquired what could be 
learned among^the living Cherokees upon this subject. 
Promptly came the answer, and it forever clears the romance 
and the mystery from our ‘eagle’s nest.’ Says Mr. Ross: ‘My 
own impression is that Chattanooga is derived from a Creek 
Indian word, as “Creek Path” is not many miles distant. I 
find in the living Creek language “Chat-to-to-noo-gee,” the 
literal meaning of which is “rock coming to a point; a cliff or 
bluff or overhanging rock,” as is found at the point of Look¬ 
out Mountain.’ ” 

The University of Chattanooga, in which all the people of 
this city take so just a pride, was started as the East Ten¬ 
nessee Wesleyan College at Athens in 1867. Later it was 
called Grant University and still later the University of Chat¬ 
tanooga which has a College of Arts and Science and a School 
of Law. 

The many points of interest and scenic grandeur in and 
around Chattanooga attract thousands of visitors and tourists 
from all parts of the country. The most noted of these are: 
Chickamauga National Park, Missionary Ridge, Orchard 

♦The house occupied by John Ross still stands in Rossville, a suburb of 
Chattanooga. 





Counties of Tennessee 


19 


Knob, National Cemetery, Confederate Cemetery, Lookout 
Mountain with its $100,000 cable incline 4,750 feet long, Signal 
Mountain, and Walden’s Ridge. 

Statistics of Hamilton County: population, 1920, 115,954. 
Assessed valuation taxable property, 1921, $140,321,440. 
(Hamilton County now includes the territory formerly em¬ 
braced in James County, the latter having been abolished by 
act of the General Assembly.) Area, 785 square miles. Num¬ 
ber of farms, 2,480. Railway mileage, 146. Drained by Ten¬ 
nessee River and tributaries. County has a varied and fertile 
soil, well adapted to the growth of all kinds of crops, including 
the different grains, grasses, fruits, and vegetables. Truck 
farming is carried on extensively in the vicinity of Chatta¬ 
nooga, and there is a large business in the shipment of early 
vegetables to the northern markets. The length of the grow¬ 
ing season makes it possible for the truck farmer to grow as 
many as three crops in one year on the same ground, and a 
ready and convenient market is found at good prices. Large 
shipments of strawberries are made every year. There is a 
profitable business in poultry and dairying. The staple pro¬ 
ducts are corn, wheat, oats, fruits, cattle, and hogs. The 
county is traversed by the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 
Railway, the Southern Railway, the Cincinnati Southern, and 
there are other roads entering from the South. The county 
has a fine system of public highways. Lookout Mountain is 
situated in the southern part of the county and is famed for 
its magnificent scenery and historic interest. Chickamauga 
National Park is near, as is Missionary Ridge. All these were 
battle grounds during the Civil War. Chattanooga, the coun¬ 
tv seat, with a population of 57,895, is one of the most pro¬ 
gressive cities in the South and is located on the Tennessee 
River at the base of Lookout Mountain. Its river and railroad 
connections furnish first-class transportation facilities. Ten 
railroads enter the city. Chattanooga has many large manu¬ 
facturing industries, two daily newspapers, several banks ot 
large resources, and all the business interests of a large city. 
Scholastic population of county, 35,887; high schools, 14; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 94. Information will be furnished by t e 
Chamber of Commerce, Chattanooga, Tenn. 




20 


Counties of Tennessee 


HANCOCK COUNTY 

H ANCOCK COUNTY was erected on January 7, 1844, and 
was named for John Hancock. It was formed from parts 
of Hawkins and Claiborne Counties. Because of some con¬ 
stitutional objections* it was not organized until 1846, when a 
commission was appointed to have the county resurveyed so 
that the rights of other counties might not be interfered with. 
The personnel of that commission was: A. P. McCarty, Ander¬ 
son Campbell, Richard Mitchell, William Nichol, of Hawkins 
County, and James Ritchie, James Fulkerson, John Farmer, 
Marshall Brewer, and Alexander Bates, of Claiborne County. 
These commissioners were also authorized to organize the 
county. Sneedville was selected as the county seat and was 
named for John L. T. Sneed, the eminent lawyer who success¬ 
fully defended the suit brought against the new county for 
running its line within twelve miles of Rogersville, the county 
seat of Hawkins County. The first court was held at the 
house of Alexander Campbell. 

Settlements began as early as 1795. Some of the early 
pioneers were: William McGee, John Ray, Knos Matthias, 
William McCully, Daniel Slavins, John Givins, Alexander 
Treat, Solomon Mitchell, John Amis, and Lincoln Amis. Of 
the early settlers, M. E. Testerman says: “The county was 
settled largely by immigrants from Virginia and North Caro¬ 
lina, and many of these were of the very best blood of the 
world; and no county in the state, population and area con¬ 
sidered, has in the same length of time produced more men of 
worth and note than Hancock.” 

Hancock was one of the first counties in the state to estab¬ 
lish a system of public schools, for which its people have al¬ 
ways responded generously. This is one of the few counties 
in the state in which Melungeons dwell.. 

Statistics of Hancock County: population, 1920, 10,454. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $2,733,197. Area, 
260 square miles. Number of farms, 1,820. Railway mileage, 
none. Drained by the Clinch River. Its surface partly moun¬ 
tainous and covered with a fine growth of timber. It is rich 
in all kinds of minerals, including iron ore, lead, zinc, marble, 
granite, ochre, phosphates, coal, and silver. Corn, wheat, oats, 
and live stock are staple products. Sneedville, the county seat, 
has a population of about 500 and is located on the Clinch 
River, 50 miles northeast of Knoxville. It has good churches, 

♦The Constitution of the State prohibited the establishment of a new county 
whose line encroached within twelve miles of the county seat of the county from 
which any of the territory of the new county was taken. 




Counties of Tennessee 


21 


schools, bank, newspaper, and flourishing business houses. 
Scholastic population, 3,833; high schools, 1; elementary 
schools, 49. 


HAWKINS COUNTY 


H AWKINS COUNTY was formed from Sullivan County 
by the State of North Carolina in 1786, while the State of 
Franklin was concurrently functioning. It was named for 
Benjamin Hawkins, who, as United States Senator, conjointly 
with Senator Samuel Johnston, executed, on February 25, 
1790, the deed which transferred what is now Tennessee to the 
United States. Its early settlers came principally from North 
Carolina and Virginia, with some from Pennsylvania and a 
sprinkling from New Kngland. The first settlements were 
made in Carter’s Valley about the time of the first settlements 
on the Watauga. Prominent among them were the Kinkeads, 
Loves, Longs, Mulkeys, Carter, and Parker, who established a 
store, Thomas Gillenwaters, Robert Lucas, Thomas Amis, who 
came about 1781 and built a stone house, a store, a blacksmith 
shop, a distillery, a saw mill and grist mill and kept a tavern, 
William Cocke, who settled at Mulberry Grove about 1780, 
Joseph McMinn, Governor of Tennessee, 1815-1821, Peter 
Parsons, Orville Bradley, John A. McKinney, Pleasant M. 

Miller, and Samuel Powell. . 

From the first they took a great interest in education. 

Notable teachers in the early days were: John Long, 1783; 
William Evans, 1784; James King, 1786; Samuel B. Hawkins, 


1796 

Rogersville, the county seat, was established by the State 
of North Carolina and was one of the last acts of Jhe Legisla¬ 
ture of that state prior to the act of cession in 1789. It was 
named for Joseph Rogers, the first settler at that place. The 
old Rogers tavern was one of the most famous taverns of t e 
early days. Andrew Jackson and other notables made it their 

stopping place. . 

The Knoxville Gazette, the first newspaper published in 
Tennessee, was first issued in Rogersville by George Roulstone 
in 1791. The Railroad Gazette, the first newspaper devoted 
exclusively to internal improvement published in the United 
States, was established at Rogersville in 1843. 

Statistics of Hawkins County: population 1920, 22,918. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921 $12^41,0611 

Area, 490 square miles. Number of farms 3,314 Railway 
mileage 51. Drained by the Clinch River. Its surface is hilly 




22 


Counties of Tennessee 


and valleys very fertile. The county is covered with a giowth 
of fine timber, including hardwoods common to the South. 
Minerals found are: iron, zinc, lead, barytes, magnesia, iron 
pyrites, salt, marble. Corn, wheat, oats, grass, and live stock 
are staple products. Fruit growing is developing into a profit¬ 
able industry in the county. Poultry and dairy products are 
important industries. The Southern Railway passes through 
the southern portion of the county. The county has good 
roads and many fine mineral springs. Rogersville, the county 
seat, on the Southern Railway, has a population of 1,402. Has 
good churches and schools, banks and newspapers, and many 
prosperous business establishments. Scholastic population of 
county, 9,620; high schools, 5; elementary schools, 95. 


JEFFERSON COUNTY 

J EFFERSON COUNTY was erected on June 11, 1792, by 
William Blount when governor of the Territory south of 
the River Ohio. It was formed from portions of Greene 
and Hawkins Counties and was named in honor of Thomas 
Jefferson. The first settlers came in 1783. Among them were: 
Robert McFarland, Alexander Outlaw, Thomas Jarnagin, 
James Hill, Wesley White, James Randolph, Joseph Copeland, 
Robert Gentry, James Hubbard, Matthew Wallace, James Rod- 
dye, Richard Rankin, Thomas Snoddy, Parmenas Taylor, Hugh 
Kelso, Adam Meek, and George Doherty, most of whom were 
prominently identified with the early history of Tennessee. 

Dandridge, established in 1793, was selected for the county 
seat, and the first Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was 
organized at the house of Jeremiah Matthews with the follow¬ 
ing magistrates in attendance: Alexander Outlaw, James Rod- 
dey, John Blackborn, James Lea, Joseph Wilson, Josiah Wil¬ 
son, Andrew Henderson, Amos Balch, and William Cox. 

The oldest church is the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, 

established in 1785. 

Among the interesting records of Jefferson County is the 
record that, on October 22, 1805, David Crockett was licensed 
to marry Margaret Elder. However, after all the arrange¬ 
ments had been made Miss Elder refused to marry him. But 
it seems that the wound was not irremediable, for on August 
12, 1806, a license was issued to him to marry Polly Findley. 

Statistics of Jefferson County: population, 1920, 17,677. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $11,052,203. 
Area, 310 square miles. Number of farms, 2,209. Railway 






Counties of Tennessee 


23 


mileage, 22. Drained by the Holston and French Broad Rivers. 
Surface marked by high ridges and fertile valleys. It has a 
fine timber growth, including the hardwoods. Iron ore and 
limestone are found in paying quantities. Wheat, corn, oats, 
grasses, fruits, and live stock are staple products. The South¬ 
ern Railway intersects the county seat, lies three miles north 
of the French Broad River. It has a population of 439 and is 
a flourishing town with good schools, churches, banks, news¬ 
paper, and commercial and manufacturing enterprises. Other 
towns are: Mossy Creek and Jefferson City. Scholastic popu¬ 
lation of county, 6,555; high schools, 4; elementary schools, 66. 


JOHNSON COUNTY 


J OHNSON COUNTY was erected in 1836 out of a part of 
Carter County and was named in honor of Cave Johnson. 
It is the extreme eastern county of the state and is famous 
for its beautiful mountain scenery. F. C. Dougherty, in his 
article published in the Nashville American of June 26, 1910, 
says: 

“Have you been up in Johnson, ‘The Land of the Sky,’ 

Where a banquet of glory is spread for the eye, 

And the breezes that float o’er mountain’s tall peak, 

Give back the invalid the rose to this cheek?” 


The first settlement was made in 1770, or possibly a little 
earlier, as some investigators think that one Honeycut, whom 
James Robertson found on Roane Creek, near its confluence 
with the Watauga River, on his exploration trip from North 
Carolina, had preceded William Been. 

At an early period Nathaniel Taylor also came to Roane 
Creek where he established iron works. He was an ancestor 
of Alfred A. Taylor and Robert L. Taylor; and Taylorville, 
the first county seat, was named for him. Some years after 
the War between the States, Roderick R. Random, then State 
Senator, succeeded in having the county seat changed to 

Mo*ntain City. 0 

The first session of the county court was held on May A 
1836, with the following magistrates: John Ward, Thomas 
Johnson, A. L. Wilson, Jared Arendill, J. W. Warren, Joseph 
Robinson, James W. Wright, A. Wilson, James Brown, Jesse 
Cole, Levi Heath, M. M. Wagner, John Dugger, Sr., and 

Statistics of Johnson County: population, 1920,12,230. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $4,037,685. Area, 




24 


Counties of Tennessee 


340 square miles. Number of farms, 1,672. Railway mileage, 
18. Watauga River drains a part of the county. Surface 
is mountainous with fertile valleys. Grazing fine for sheep 
and cattle. Large part of the county is covered with a fine 
growth of timber. Corn, wheat, oats, and grasses are staple 
products. Iron ore is found in the county. Mountain City, 
the county seat, has a population of 724 and is a flourishing 
town with good schools and churches, banks, weekly news¬ 
paper, and prosperous commercial establishments. Scholastic 
population of county, 4,067; high schools, 1; elementary 
schools, 42. 


KNOX COUNTY 


K NOX COUNTY was erected on June 11, 1792, out of 
Greene and Hawkins Counties and was named in honor 
of Gen. Henry Knox, Secretary of War in Washington’s 
cabinet. On the 16th of the same month, says Ramsey,* 
“James White, John Sawyers, Hugh Beard, John Adair, 
George McNutt, Jeremiah Jack, John Kerns, James Cozby, 
John Evans, Samuel Newell, William Wallace, Thomas Mc¬ 
Culloch, William Hamilton, David Craig, and William Lowry 
presented a commission from Governor Blount appointing 
them Justices of the Peace for Knox County, and appeared 
before the Honorable David Campbell, Esq., who, in the pres¬ 
ence of Governor Blount, administered to each of them an 
oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and also 
an oath of office. 

“Charles McClung also produced a Commission from the 
Governor, appointing him Clerk of Knox County, and he was 
in like manner qualified. 

“Thomas Chapman, also, as Register. 

“June 25, Robert Houston, in like manner, commissioned 
and qualified as sherifL” . . . 

“The first court held was on the 16th of July, 1792. Pres¬ 
ent—James White, Samuel Newell, David Craig, and Jeremiah 
Jack. James White was appointed chairman.” 

The following men eminent in the history of Tennessee 
were qualified and admitted to the practice of law in this 
court: Luke Bowyer, Alexander Outlaw, Joseph Hamilton, 
Archibald Roane, Hopkins Lacy, John Rhea, and James Reese. 

Knoxville, the county seat of Knox County, was founded, 
named, and laid out in 1791. The date of the contract between 
James White, the founder of Knoxville, and the commissions 


*Annal9 of Tennessee, page 568. 





Counties of Tennessee 


25 


on behalf of the purchasers of lots was October 3, 1791. But 
it was not until February, 1792, that much improvement was 
undertaken, and June 11, 1792, is the date of the founding of 
Knoxville. Before the contract was made with the purchasers 
of the lots and the naming of the town as Knoxville, this place 
was called White’s Fort, which was a frontier stronghold. 

There were two eminent men, named James White, in 
early Tennessee history; and, as they were contemporaneous 
for a time, they are frequently mistaken for each even by 
historians. 

One of these notable characters was Dr. James White, of 
Davidson County, who was chosen as the Territorial represen¬ 
tative in Congress, and the other was Gen. James White, 
founder of Knoxville and father of Hugh Lawson White. 

General White donated the land upon which was located 
Blount College,f the First Presbyterian Church, and the ad¬ 
joining cemetery. 

When William Blount received his commission as Gov¬ 
ernor of the Southwest Territory on August 7, 1790, he imme¬ 
diately left for the scene of his future activities and in the 
autumn of that year made his residence at the home of William 
Cobb in the fork of the Holston and Watauga Rivers. Here 
were his court and his capital until in 1792 when he made 
Knoxville the capital of the territory. 

When Tennessee became the sixteenth state of the Union 
in 1796, Knoxville was made the capital. Section 1, of Article 
X, of the first Constitution of the State, adopted in 1796, reads: 
“Knoxville shall be the seat of government until the year one 
thousand eight hundred and two.” It continued as the capital, 
however, until 1807, when the Seventh General Assembly met 
at Kingston, but adjourned to Knoxville after two days. Knox¬ 
ville remained the capital until 1813 when the Legislature met 
at Nashville for the first time. The only time subsequently 
when Knoxville was the capital was when the Legislature met 
there in 1817. 

Statistics of Knox County: population, 1920, 112,926. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $119,642,106. Area, 
612 square miles. Number of farms, 3,969. Railway mileage, 
120. Drained by the Tennessee River and its tributaries. The 
farms are very rich and productive along these streams and in 
the other valleys. Improved valley lands range between $50 
and $150 per acre. Fine macadamized roads reach every sec¬ 
tion of the county. Lands around Knoxville are well adapted 

fNamed in honor of Governor Wm. Blount, chartered in 1 794, later named 
East Tennessee University, and now the University of Tennessee. 








26 


Counties of Tennessee 


to truck farming. All kinds of early vegetables are grown and 
find a ready market and are shipped north. Knoxville, the 
county seat, with a population of 77,718, is one of the most 
enterprising and flourishing cities in the state, is the seat of 
the State University, and there are many other fine schools. 
It has many manufacturing and industrial establishments, 
splendid banking institutions, and a large jobbing trade with 
the eastern section of the state and with Kentucky and other 
states. Many fine marble quarries are operated in the vicinity 
of Knoxville, the quality of the marble being such that it is in 
demand all over the country. Railroads entering the city are: 
the Southern, the Louisville and Nashville, and the Knoxville, 
Seviersville & Eastern. Knoxville has two daily newspapers 
and several class publications. The scholastic population of 
the county is 42,995; high schools, 15; elementary schools, 101. 


LOUDON COUNTY 


OUDON COUNTY was erected on May 27, 1870, from 



parts of Roane, Monroe, and Blount counties and was 


named in commemoration of Fort Loudon, which, in 
turn, was named for the Earl of Loudon, commander-in-chief, 
in 1756, of the British forces in America and Governor of Vir¬ 
ginia. It lies on both sides of the Tennessee about twenty-nine 
miles southwest of Knoxville. This county was established in 
accordance with especial provisions embodied in Section 4, 
Article X of the Constitution of 1870. 

Early settlers were: Henry Bogard, Jacob Gardengill, John 
Browder, Benjamin Prater, William B. Lenoir, James Blair, 
Samuel Blair, William Blair, Jesse Eldridge, Simeon Eldridge. 

The Presbyterians erected the first church in this county in 
1823. Its pastor was Dr. Isaac Anderson, a teacher of Sam 
Houston. 

Statistics of Loudon County: population, 1920, 16,275. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $10,018,424. Area, 
256 square miles. Number of farms, 1,396; railway mileage, 
29. Drained by the Little Tennessee River. Surface is hilly, 
but soil fertile. There is a fine timber growth in the county. 
Good opportunities in the county for marble and furniture in¬ 
dustries. The county is intersected by the Southern Railway. 
Loudon, the county seat, has a population of about 1,000, is a 
flourishing town on the Southern Railway and the Tennessee 
River, and has splendid schools, churches, weekly newspaper, 
manufacturing establishments, and stores, bank, etc. Lenoir 






Counties of Tennessee 


27 


City, with a population of 4,210, has several manufacturing 
establishments, including car works, and is a prosperous town. 
Scholastic population of the county, 5,488; high schools, 4; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 38. 


McMINN COUNTY 

M cMINN COUNTY was created on November 5, 1819, 
out of lands ceded by the Cherokee Indians to the 
United States in that year, and was named for Joseph 
McMinn, who was Governor at that time. 

McMinn, Monroe, and Bradley Counties embraced the 
largest and best portions of the land thus ceded. “A new ju¬ 
dicial circuit was established in lower East Tennessee, com¬ 
posed of seven counties, of which McMinn was one; and the 
Hon. Charles F. Keith, then a leading lawyer of Jefferson 
County, Tennessee, was elected the first judge and held the 
first Circuit Court in the county at the house of John Walker, 
in the town of Calhoun, on the Hiwasse River, fourteen miles 
southwest from Athens, the present county seat, on the first 
Monday of March, 1820.”* 

Maj. John Walker was part Cherokee and laid off the town 
of Calhoun on land allotted him and named it for John C. Cal¬ 
houn. In 1821-1822, the town of Athens was laid off, and in 
1823 the courts of the county were moved there. Noted mem¬ 
bers of the Athens bar were: Return J. Meigs, Spencer Jarna- 
gin, Thomas Campbell, later Clerk of the House of Representa¬ 
tives in Congress, and J. W. M. Brazeale, the historian. 

Early settlers in McMinn County were: A. R. Turk, E. P. 
Owen, John Cowan, George Colville, and Eli Sharp. 

After he had served his third successive term as Governor, 
McMinn was appointed agent to the Cherokee Indians and at 
his death was buried in the yard of the Presbyterian Church at 
Calhoun which was built in 1823. 

A pretty romance is told of the marriage of Miss Emily 
Meigs; daughter of Return J. Meigs, to the son of John Walker. 
The young man was very handsome, but as he had Cherokee 
blood her father opposed the union. So they eloped. But as 
he was a Cherokee chief he was compelled to placate his peo¬ 
ple by espousing an Indian girl, named Nancy Bushyhead. 
He was murdered by two Indians as he was returning from 
the council which decided upon the Cherokee cession. 

John H. Reagan, postmaster-general of the Confederacy, 

of Tennessee, pag* 580. 


•Killebrew’s Resources 





28 


Counties of Tennessee 


who also achieved renown in Texas, and Senator John T. 
Morgan, of Alabama, were natives of McMinn County. 

Statistics of McMinn County: population, 1920, 25,133. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $11,063,543. Area, 
452 square miles. Number of farms, 2,654. Railway mileage, 
56. Drained by the Hiwassee River and tributaries. Fine 
growth of timber and soil very fertile in the valleys. The 
Louisville and Nashville and Southern Railways intersect the 
county. Corn, wheat, oats, and grasses are staple products. 
The county has a fine system of public highways. Athens, the 
county seat, has a population of 2,580 and is on the Southern 
Railway 55 miles northeast of Chattanooga and 55 miles from 
Knoxville. It has a fine electric light plant, splendid churches 
and schools, including a branch of the University of Chat¬ 
tanooga ; two newspapers, flour mill, two box factories, roller 
mill, hosiery mills, table and chair factory, two planing mills, 
concrete tile plant, etc. Etowah, with a population of 2,516, is 
on the main line of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, 60 
miles south of Knoxville. It is headquarters of the Atlanta Di¬ 
vision of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. This town is 
fourteen years old and has had the most remarkable growth of 
any town in the state. Etowah has two banks, one newspaper, 
fine electric light plant and water plant, manufacturing and 
commercial establishments, and is a rich agricultural section. 
Scholastic population of the county, 8,858; high schools, 6; 
elementary schools, 97. Other towns in McMinn: Riceville, 
Calhoun, Niota, Englewood, each of which has a bank. 


MARION COUNTY 

M ARION COUNTY was erected in 1817 out of the Chero¬ 
kee lands and was named for Gen. Francis Marion. It 
was organized in 1818 at the town of Liberty which re¬ 
mained the county seat until 1820 when it was removed to 
Jasper. 

Marion County is noted for its mineral springs and for its 
coal and iron deposits. 

Statistics of Marion County: population, 1920, 17,402. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $12,448,090. Area, 
500 square miles. Number of farms, 1,037. Railway mileage, 
68. Drained by the Tennessee and Sequatchie Rivers. Surface 
broken by high ridges running parallel with the Cumberland 
Mountains. Soil is fertile and there is a fine timber growth. 
Staple products are corn, wheat, cotton, oats, hay, and live 
stock. Coal is mined in considerable quantity. Jasper, the 




Counties of Tennessee 


29 


county seat, with a population of 728, is situated on the 
Sequatchie River and the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 
Railway and has good churches, schools, weekly newspaper 
and prosperous business establishments. South Pittsburg, 
with a population of 2,356, and Whitwell are other flourishing 
towns. Scholastic population of county, 6,981; high schools, 
3; elementary schools, 58. 


MEIGS COUNTY 

M EIGS COUNTY also was carved out of the territory 
ceded to the United States by the Cherokees in 1819. 
It was erected by act of the Legislature in 1836 and 
named for Return J. Meigs. This treaty is frequently spoken 
of as the Hiwassee Purchase. Meigs County was formed from 
parts of Rhea, Roane, Hamilton, and McMinn Counties. 

Some romantic interest attaches to this county in connec¬ 
tion with Sam Houston as it is supposed to have been the 
home of Chief Jolly of the Cherokees who adopted Sam Hous¬ 
ton and with whom Houston spent much time when a boy. It 
is a tradition that the Chiefs home was on Jolly’s Island at 
the mouth of Hiwassee River. 

Under the treaty of 1819 the country north of Hiwassee 
River was opened to settlement and was attached to Rhea 
County until 1836. As the Tennessee River then divided Rhea 
County, an unsuccessful effort to create a new county had 
been made some years previously. Hon. Miles Vernon was 
a resident of what is now Meigs County and, being a member 
of the State Senate, became an active and finally successful 
advocate of the creation of the county desired. The act, as 
originally passed by the Senate, named the new county Ver¬ 
non, in honor of Senator Vernon, and the county seat Reagan, 
after James Reagan, Senator from McMinn County. The 
House of Representatives, however, changed these names and 
during the discussion the name DeKalb was suggested for the 
county; but finally agreement was arrived at on Meigs for the 
county, and Decatur, in honor of Commodore Stephen Deca¬ 
tur, for the county seat. 

The act which created the county was approved January 
21, 1836, and the first county court was organized on May 2, 
1836, at’the house of John Stewart, three miles north of the 
present county seat, which was later located by commission¬ 
ers appointed by the Legislature on May 16, 1836. This action 
took place at the residence of James Lillard and the site itself 
was on land donated by him and by Leonard Brooks. Money 




30 


Counties of Tennessee 


for erecting the first county buildings was raised by the sale 
of lots, and the expense in connection with the sale was 
$49.50, of which $1.50 was for “liquor furnished by West at 
divers times.” 

Statistics of Meigs County: population, 1920, 6,077. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $2,056,327. Area, 
200 square miles. Number of farms, 935. Railway mileage, 
none. Drained by the Tennessee and Hiwassee Rivers. Hi- 
wassee River and valley lands are very fertile. Corn, wheat, 
oats, hay, and live stock are staple products. Decatur, the 
county seat, has a population of 142 and has a weekly news¬ 
paper, bank, and flourishing commercial establishments. 
Scholastic population of county 2,072; high schools, 1; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 32. 


MONROE COUNTY 


M ONROE COUNTY was erected in 1819 out of the Hi¬ 
wassee Purchase and was named for President Mon¬ 
roe. At the time of the cession and for a long period 
of time previously the territory now in this county contained 
the old Indian towns of Chota, Tellico, Citico, and Toqua. 
Loudon was erected in 1756 at the junction of the Tellico and 
Little Tennessee Rivers. This was the first structure erected 
in Tennessee by Anglo-Americans. 5 * 1 

In 1825, at public sale of lands, the first sheriff, John Mc- 
Crosky, and James Montgomery bought farms; and the son 
of the latter, M. J. C. Montgomery, was the first man in the 
United States to saw slanting fence posts. 

Among the first settlers were: Samuel McSpadden, Wil¬ 
liam Williams, William Ainsworth, Michael Carroll, William 
Bradley, James Axely, William Neal, Daniel Heiskell, Rev. 
Robert Sneed, Hugh H. Gregory, Alexander Biggs, Pressly 
Cleveland, Finley Gillespie, and Iredell Wright. Joseph B. 
Heiskell, who became Attorney-General of the State, studied 
law under Gillespie. Judge D. M. Key,t also, was born in this 
county. 

The first court was held at Morganton (now in Loudon 
County). The next court was held at Henderson's, three miles 
east of Madisonville, the present county site, which was named 
for President Madison and was established probably in 1822, 
although some authorities say the site “was selected and a 
town platted in 1827.” 


•Ramsey’s Annals of Tennessee, pages 51-53, 66, 85. 
fPostmaster-General in President Hayes’ cabinet. 





Counties of Tennessee 


31 


Henderson and Johnson established in 1832, at Madison- 
ville, an enterprise for the publication of “Dr. Gunn’s Do¬ 
mestic Medicine,” which enterprise attained somewhat large 
proportions for that day. It also published a few other books. 

The enterprising town of Sweetwater had its beginning in 
1852 in which year Newton Haun erected its first building. 


The notable historical institutions of learning of the county 
are: Bolivar Academy, established following the compact of 
1806; Hiwassee College, chartered in 1847, of which Dr. 
Robert Doak was the first president, from which many able 
men have gone forth; and Sweetwater College, of which the 
eminent Dr. J. L. Bachman was the head for more than twenty- 
five years. About twenty years ago it was converted into the 
Tennessee Military Academy, a large and flourishing institu¬ 
tion. 

Besides the notable men already mentioned, Monroe Coun¬ 
ty has produced the following who have been or are now 
eminent in various lines of endeavor: Gideon Morgan, Gen. 
John C. Vaughn, who had a noteworthy record in the Con¬ 
federate Army; John L. Hopkins, an attorney; Prof. S. G. 
Gilbreath, State Superintendent of Public Instruction under 
Governor Turney and now Superintendent of East Tennessee 
State Normal School at Johnson City; Dr. J. H. Brunner, for 
many years President of Hiwassee College. 

Statistics of Monroe County: population, 1920, 22,060. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $11,916,448. Area, 
580 square miles. Number of farms, 2,474. Railway mileage, 
40 Monroe County joins North Carolina. Drained by Tellico 
and Little Tennessee Rivers. The eastern portion is moun¬ 
tainous and covered with valuable timber. The soil is fertile, 
the principal products being corn, wheat, potatoes, grasses, 
and live stock. The county has a good system of graded roads 
and a good mileage of hard surface roads. Iron ore, copper, 
barvtes and gold are found in the mountainous portions of the 
county.’ In the Coker Creek territory gold is found in places 
and quartz ledges and has been successfully mined, $80,000 
having been taken off less than one acre. The Louisville & 
Nashville and the Southern Railway enter the county. Madi- 
sonville, the county seat, has a population of 850, is on the 
Atlantic Division of the L. & N. 45 miles from Knoxville, and 
has two banks, one weekly newspaper, flouring mills, lumber 
plant good schools and churches. Sweetwater on the South¬ 
ern Railway, has a population of 1,972, one weekly newspaper, 
two banks barytes mill, flour mill, planing mill, woolen mill, 
good schools and churches, and flourishing mercantile estab- 




32 


Counties of Tennessee 


lishments. Tennessee Military Academy is located at Sweet¬ 
water. Tellico Plains has a population of 1,220, two banks, 
two lumber manufacturing plants, one tannic acid plant, roof¬ 
ing slate plant, and several stores. Scholastic population of 
county, 8,034; high schools, 4; elementary schools, 80. 


MORGAN COUNTY 


M ORGAN COUNTY was erected in 1817 from Roane 
County and was named for Gen. Daniel Morgan. The 
first county site was at Montgomery. Later Wartburg 
was selected. It is said that the first settler was Samuel Hall, 
who located in 1807 about seven miles northeast of Wartburg. 
Other early comers were: Martin Hall, Joseph Stonecipher, 
Benjamin Stonecipher, Michael Stonecipher, Ezra Stonecipher, 
John M. Staples, Elijah Reese, Titus England, John Freels, 
Royal Price, William Shoemaker, Matthias Williams, Ephraim 
Davis, Morgan Hendricks, John Webb, Littleburg Brient, 
Lewis Rector, John Craig, and Basil Human. 

Wartburg, the county seat, was settled by an enterprising 
and thrifty colony of Germans, who proved to be industrious 
and intelligent and did much for the material and educational 
interests of the county. The first term of the county court 
was held in January, 1818. 

Morgan County contains great wealth in timber and coal, 
but most of the land suitable for cultivation is in the valleys. 

The state possesses coal lands at Petros, the veins of which 
are worked by the convicts of the branch prison at that place. 

That unique settlement called the Rugby Colony was es¬ 
tablished in the northwestern part of the county. Its first 
name was The Board of Aid to Land Ownership when it was 
organized by Boston people in 1877 and was changed three 
years later to Rugby Colony when the celebrated English 
author and other English capitalists became interested. Mr. 
Hughes opened the colony on October 5, 1880. They bought 
large tracts of land also in Scott and Fentress Counties. 

Morgan County statistics: population, 1920, 13,285. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,724,137. Area, 
448 square miles. Number of farms, 1,251. Railway mileage, 
61. Drained by Emory and Obed Rivers. Its surface is 
billy and well timbered with oak, chestnut, and pine. Corn, 
grasses, and live stock are staple products. Fruit growing is a 
paying industry. Large deposits of coal are found in the 
county. The Cincinnati Southern Railway intersects the 
county. Wartburg, the county seat, has a population of about 




Counties of Tennessee 


33 


500, has a weekly newspaper, bank, and general stores. 
Scholastic population of county, 4,453; high schools, 4; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 51. 


POLK COUNTY 


P OLK COUNTY was created on November 28, 1839, from 
parts of McMinn and Bradley Counties and named for 
President (then Governor) James K. Polk. The county 
seat, “to be called Benton in honor of the Hon. Thomas H. 
Benton, a Senator in the Congress of the United States,” was 
selected by vote of the people on February 8, 1840. 

Settlements were made in 1836, the first town being Colum¬ 
bus, where the county court met on May 4, 1840. In August, 
1840, the court met for the first time at Benton, which had 
been laid out on the McKamy farm. The Federal road from 
Knoxville to Cassville, Ga., passed through Polk County. 
Among the early settlers were: W. W. Biggs, Nelson Lawson, 
Abraham Lillard, Thomas Jones, R. W. McClary, Early Boyd, 
William Higgins, Michael Hildebrand, A. R. Stephenson, and 
John N. Taylor. 

Ocoee Academy, a school for boys, was established at Ben¬ 
ton, in 1844. 

In mineral resources Polk is one of the richest counties in 
the state. In 1850 copper was discovered in the Ducktown 
basin, a low-grade copper, but of unknown depth and seem¬ 
ingly in inexhaustible quantities. Mixed with the ore is sul¬ 
phur and, for years, the fumes thrown off in the process of re¬ 
duction destroyed vegetation for many miles around and 
caused a suit to be entered by the State of Georgia against the 
State of Tennessee. Only a few years ago, however, the 
method of saving the sulphur fumes and, with them, produc¬ 
ing sulphuric acid, a valuable byproduct has eliminated the 
former destruction of all vegetable growth. One of the most 
remarkable exhibits made by the State of Tennessee at the 
World’s Fair at St. Louis was the copper ore furnished by the 
Tennessee Copper Company, which exhibit was secured for the 
state by Mr. A. P. Foster. The Ducktown Company is another 
very large corporation engaged in the production of copper. 
But copper, although the most valuable, is not the only mineral 
found in Polk County. No less than one hundred different 
minerals have been discovered in it, among them ten kinds of 
iron ore, gold, lead, graphite, lithograph stone, garnet, sulphur, 
granite, sandstone, quartz, manganese, limestone, talc, fluor¬ 
spar, slate, and marble. 




34 


Counties of Tennessee 


Statistics of Polk County: population, 1920, 14,247. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $16,883,592. Area, 
400 square miles. Number of farms, 951. Railway mileage, 
68. Drained by Hiwassee and Ocoee Rivers. The surface is 
mountainous and well timbered. Grazing for cattle and sheep 
is abundant. Extensive copper mines are operated in the 
county by the Ducktown Copper Company and the Tennessee 
Copper Company, the output being large. Lead is also found 
in the county, and there are large quarries of gray limestone. 
Corn, wheat, grass, and live stock are the principal products. 
The Louisville & Nashville Railroad traverses the county. 
Benton, the county seat, with a population of 525, is on the 
L. & N. three miles south of the Hiwassee River. It has good 
schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, bank, and general 
stores. Ducktown is the seat of the copper industry and has 
a population of 3,500. Copper Hill is another flourishing town. 
Scholastic population of county, 5,431; high schools, 3; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 41. 


RHEA COUNTY 


R HEA COUNTY was erected on December 3, 1807, from 
Roane County and named for John Rhea,* a member of 
Congress from Sullivan County, Tenn., from 1803 to 
1823. The Cherokees had relinquished their claim on the lands 
in the county by treaty in 1805. 

In January, 1808, the first county court was organized at 
Big Springs, in the home of William Henry, about three or 
four miles north of Dayton. James Campbell was elected 
chairman; Daniel Rawlings, clerk; Miller Francis, sheriff; 
Thomas Woodward, coroner; Alex. Ferguson, register; 
Joseph Brooks, trustee; Thomas G. Brown, ranger; William 
Brown, solicitor. The justices at the time of the organization 
were: James Campbell, Jonathan Fine, Abraham Howard, 
John Henry, Joseph Brooks, Daniel Rawlings, and William 
Long. 

On February 12, 1812, a committee, appointed to select the 
county seat, met at the home of Judge David Campbell and 
chose Washington at the head of Spring Creek. The site for 
the courthouse was on a grant of land owned by Richard G. 
Waterhouse, but Judge Campbell, having a claim upon a part 
of the grant, made a deed to the commissioners. The first 

•It was John Rhea's testimony which exculpated Andrew Jackson in his con¬ 
troversy with the Monroe administration over his authority to enter Florida in 
the Seminole War. 





Counties of Tennessee 


35 


courthouse was built in this year. The first circuit court was 
held in 1810. 

Dayton, the present county seat, was previously Smith’s 
Cross Roads and grew to a town of three thousand inhabitants 
in three years after a company of English capitalists, headed 
by Sir Titus Salts, located great iron furnaces in Rhea County 
in 1884. 

Famous educational institutions of Rhea County are: Mars 
Hill School, afterwards changed to Tennessee Academy, Lor¬ 
raine School, Tennessee Valley College, Dayton Masonic Col¬ 
lege, and Dayton University. 

Early settlers were: James C. Mitchell, teacher of Hopkins 
L. Turney, father of Gov. Peter Turney; John Hackett, a 
famous land speculator; John Locke, cashier of the loan office 
of the old Bank of Tennessee; James Campbell, Robert Pat¬ 
terson, Jesse Roddye, David Murfree, and Daniel Walker. 

Statistics of Rhea County: population, 1920, 13,812. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, $8,947,220. Area, 360 
square miles. Number of farms, 1,201. Railway mileage, 32. 
Drained by the Tennessee River. Surface partly mountainous. 
Cattle, corn, wheat, grass, and fruits are staple products. 
There has been remarkable development and advance in the 
cultivation of small fruits, a large annual business being done 
in the shipment of strawberries. This county is noted for its 
fine apples. Coal and iron ore are found in the county, and 
there are fine forests of marketable timber. The county is 
traversed by the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. Dayton, the 
county seat, has a population of 1,701. It is on the Cincinnati 
Southern Railroad 38 miles from Chattanooga. It is a flourish¬ 
ing town, with good business houses, churches, schools, week¬ 
ly newspapers, banks, and several manufacturing establish¬ 
ments. Spring City and Grandview are flourishing towns with 
good schools. Scholastic population of county, 5,246, high 
schools, 4; elementary schools, 50. 


ROANE COUNTY 

R OANE COUNTY was erected November 6,1801 and was 
formed from Knox County. It was named for Judge 
Roane, Governor, 1801-1803. After the Pliwassee Pur¬ 
chase, Roane County was extended on the south side of the 
Tennessee River and Morgan County was taken from it. 

On November 30, 1793, a blockhouse was completed by 
Tohn Sevier at Southwest Point, a station established in 1791, 





36 


Counties of Tennessee 


near Kingston, which was of great service to travelers and set¬ 
tlers as a protection against the Indians. 

Capt. W. E. McElwee, of Rockwood, is authority for the 
following statement concerning the early history of this sec¬ 
tion: “In 1799 the Legislature then in session in Knoxville 
passed an act, ‘To establish a town to be named Kingston, on 
the lands of Robert King, near Southwest Point, in Knox 
County, to be laid out under the direction of David Miller, 
Alexander Carmichael, George Preston, John Smith, William 
L. Lovely, and Thomas N. Clark. Later a petition was sent 
to the Assembly to create a new county, with Kingston for the 
county seat. This was done November 6, 1801. It was named 
in honor of Archibald Roane. There were in the county 275 
men capable of bearing arms, organized into six companies. 
Only eight men were unable to sign their names to the muster 
rolls. Forty-two of them had been Revolutionary soldiers, 
among them being Captain Walker, who had commanded the 
body guard of Light Horse Harry Lee.” 

The road running from the Clinch River to the Cumberland 
settlements, built in 1785, passed through Roane County. 
When Knoxville became the capital of the Southwest Terri¬ 
tory in 1792, the road was extended to that point. In 1822 it 
became a twice-a-week stage route, running through the main 
street of Kingston. At that time Kingston was a very im¬ 
portant point. Its inns were stopping places for Jackson, 
Sevier, and other noted men of those days. On Monday, Sep¬ 
tember 21, 1807, the Legislature met at Kingston, but ad¬ 
journed to meet at Knoxville on Wednesday, September 23. 

Early settlers were: Dr. Daniel Rather, Thomas C. Child¬ 
ress, Robert Allison, William French, David Patton, Thomas 
Brown, quartermaster for the garrison at Southwest Point, 
Gen. John Brown, owner of extensive lands, and William 
Brown, an eminent lawyer. 

The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was organized on 
December 20, 1801, at the home of Hugh Beatty, at which 
time the following magistrates were qualified: William White, 
Samuel Miller, Hugh Nelson, Paul Harlson, Zacheus Ayer, 
George Preston, William Campbell, James Preston, Isham 
Cox, William Barnett, George McPherson, and Abraham Mc¬ 
Clelland. 

Early lawyers were: John Purvis, James McCampbell, 
W. C. Dunlap, J. W. Brazeale, J. Y. Smith, and I. Hope. 

Soldiers from this county in the Creek War and the War 
of 1812 were: John Lloyd, Daniel Webster, Uriah Allison, Tom 
Margrave, and John Morrison. Sam Houston was a clerk in 



Counties of Tennessee 


37 


a store in Kingston when he enlisted as a soldier in the Creek 
War. 

Rittenhouse Academy was one of the twenty-seven acad¬ 
emies established in Tennesse in accordance with the terms 
of the compact of 1806. It educated many prominent men and 
women. For many years its principal was a Prussian of high, 
birth, named H. W. von Aldehoff. He married a sister of 
Judge James Sevier, a grandson of John Sevier. Afterwards 
he established a celebrated school on Lookout Mountain and 
later moved to Dallas, Tex. 

Statistics of Roane County: population, 1920, 24,624. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $14,239,897. Area, 
450 square miles. Number of farms, 1,687. Railway mileage, 
89. Drained by Tennessee River and tributaries. The sur¬ 
face is mountainous and covered with fine forests of timber. 
The soil is fertile in the valleys and river bottoms. Mineral 
resources are iron ore, coal, and building stone. Staple pro¬ 
ducts are corn, wheat, grass, and live stock. Fine county for 
orchards and vineyards. The strawberry industry has been 
developed in the county. The county has a fine system of 
public highways. Kingston, the county seat, with a popula¬ 
tion of 516, is a flourishing town with good schools, churches, 
bank, and weekly newspaper. Harriman, with a population of 
4,019, has fine schools and churches, banks, newspapers, and 
several manufacturing establishments. Rockwood, with a 
population of 4,652, is an iron and coke center and gives em¬ 
ployment to a large number of people in these industries. It 
has fine schools and churches, banks, weekly newspaper, and 
manufacturing establishments. Scholastic population of coun¬ 
ty, 8,618; high schools, 5; elementary schools, 57. 


SCOTT COUNTY 

S COTT COUNTY was erected on December 17, 1849, out 
of parts of Anderson, Campbell, Fentress, and Morgan 
Counties, and was named for Gen. W. S. Scott. It was 
surveyed by Sampson Stanfield. By the act creating it a Board 
of Commissioners was appointed consisting of William Tit- 
wood, W. W. Cotton, William Massengale, Drury Smith, John 
Tipton, William Rich, Thomas Lawson, William Carney, and 
J. W. Kerne. This Board appointed the following committee 
to locate the county seat: Isaac Reed, Bailey Buttram, James 
Litton, Riley Chambers, and Henry Massengale. They located 




38 


Counties of Tennessee 


the county seat at Huntsville, named in honor of a hunter of 
the early days whose name was Hunt. 

The first election was held on March 2, 1850, and the fol¬ 
lowing officers were elected: John Lewallen, Sheriff; Allen 
McDonald, County Court Clerk; John L. Smith, Circuit Court 
Clerk; Isaac Reed, Trustee; Riley Chambers, Registrar. 

The first court was held in July, 1850, by Judge Alexander 
and Attorney-General David H. Cummings. 

The first courthouse was erected in 1851 and was used until 
1874, when a new courthouse was built. This, in turn, was 
superseded by the third which was built in 1906. 

Statistics of Scott County: population, 1920, 13,411. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,170,922. Area, 
620 square miles. Number of farms, 1,344. Railway mileage, 
70. Drained by the tributaries of the Cumberland River. Sur¬ 
face is hilly and covered with fine forests. Staple products are 
corn, grass, and live stock. Considerable attention is given to 
the production of small fruits. Fine fire clay deposits are 
found. Huntsville, the county seat, with a population of about 
500, has good schools, churches, a weekly newspaper, and 
flourishing business establishments. The chief town in the 
county is Oneida, on the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, with 
a population of 942. A railroad is being extended from Oneida 
into Fentress County. Helenwood is another flourishing town. 
Scholastic population of county, 5,411; high schools, 5; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 61. 


SEQUATCHIE COUNTY 

S EQUATCHIE COUNTY was erected in 1857 out of Ham¬ 
ilton County and was named for Sequatchie Valley and 
Sequatchie River. It is traversed by the Sequatchie Val¬ 
ley which is very fertile. This county is rich in deposits of 
coal and iron. The county seat is Dunlap. 

Statistics of Sequatchie County: population, 1920, 3,362. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $2,168,407. Area, 
250 square miles. Number of farms, 339. Railway mileage, 
14. Drained by the Sequatchie River and intersected by the 
Sequatchie Valley. Soil in the valleys is very fertile. One of 
the best grape-producing sections in the South. Fine hard¬ 
woods are found. Mineral resources are: limestone, coal, and 
iron ore. Corn, wheat, oats, grass, and live stock are staple 
products. Fine grazing lands for cattle. Traversed by the 
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. Dunlap, the 
county seat, has a population of 1,465, and is a flourishing 




Counties of Tennessee 


39 


town with good schools, churches, business establishments, and 
a weekly newspaper. Scholastic population of county, 1,548; 
high schools, 1; elementary schools, 13. 


SEVIER COUNTY 

S EVIER COUNTY was erected by the Territorial Assem¬ 
bly on September 27, 1794, out of Jefferson County and 
was attached to the district of Hamilton. It was named 
for John Sevier, as was the county seat, Sevierville. The set¬ 
tlement of Sevier County began in 1783, when pioneers built a 
fort on Dumplin Creek and soon held a friendly conference 
with the Cherokee Indians. Maj. James Hubbard, whose fam¬ 
ily in Virginia had been murdered by the Shawnees, and who 
was an implacable enemy of all Indians, attended and at¬ 
tempted to intimidate the Cherokees. His efforts were 
thwarted by Capt. (afterwards General) James White. 

Among the early settlers were: William Cannon, Jacob 
Huff, Samuel Blair, Allen Bryant, Peter Bryant, Joshua Gist 
(Judge of the Supreme Court of the State of Franklin), 
Thomas Bucking, who built the first brick house in the county 
eight miles south of Sevierville, and Isaac Thomas, a giant. 

After the collapse of the State of Franklin, in 1788, the 
people who had been permitted by the Indians to locate in the 
region south of the French Broad River, which included what 
is now Sevier County, were ignored by the Governor of North 
Carolina. Being technically trespassers upon the lands of the 
Indians, in their emergency they set up a government of their 
own, which was the fourth independent government estab¬ 
lished in the State of Tennessee. This government continued 
until 1792 when Jefferson County was organized by Governor 
William Blount. 

Sevierville was laid off in 1795. Only a few sessions of 
the court were held before the admission of the state into the 
Union. The first court after that event was held on July 4, 
1796. The following magistrates were present: Samuel New¬ 
ell, Joshua Gist, Joseph Wilson, Andrew Cowan, Joseph Vance, 
Robert Pollack, Peter Bryant, M. Lewis, John Clack, Robert 
Calvert, Adam Wilson, James Riggin, Alexander Montgomery, 
Jesse Griffin, Isom Green, James P. H. Porter, and Lewis 
Renan. 

The first white child born in the county was Nancy Rogers, 
who married James P. H. Porter. Her name was bestowed on 
Nancy Academy, for the establishment of which the Legisla- 




40 


Counties of Tennessee 


ture in 1813 authorized the holding of a lottery. George W. 
Pickle, State Attorney-General and reporter, was a resident 
of Sevierville in 1869. 

Statistics of Sevier County: population, 1920, 22,384. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $8,840,827. Area, 
560 square miles. Number of farms, 3,450. Railway mileage, 
36. Drained by the French Broad River. Surface is moun¬ 
tainous and partly covered with fine timber. The soil in the 
valleys is rich and fertile. Fine limestone is quarried in the 
county. Staple products are: wheat, corn, grass, and live 
stock. Grazing for live stock is abundant. Sevierville, the 
count seat, with a population of 776, is on the Little Pigeon 
River and the Knoxville, Sevierville and Eastern Railroad, 
30 miles from Knoxville. It has good schools, churches, two 
weekly newspapers, banks, and general stores and manufactur¬ 
ing establishments. Scholastic population of county, 8,503; 
high schools, none; elementary schools, 99. 


SULLIVAN COUNTY* 

S ULLIVAN COUNTY, the second county formed in Ten¬ 
nessee, was created by the State of North Carolina in 1799, 
after a survey had shown that it was in this state and not 
in Virginia as had theretofore been thought. It was named 
for Gen. John Sullivan. With the exception of a small strip, 
Sullivan County was not, therefore, a part of Washington 
District when this district was created, but at that time was 
claimed by Virginia and was recognized as a part of that state. 

Among the early settlers were John Rhea, Gen. George Rut¬ 
ledge, who commanded a company at King’s Mountain, Gen. 
George Maxwell, Col. David Looney, and Richard Nether- 
land, the Kings, Thomases, Dulaneys, Delaneys, Rutledges, 
Massengills, Snodgrasses, Snapps, Taylor, Senekers, Coxes, 
Bachmans, Bushongs, Andersons, Easleys, Cowans, Pyles, 
Bookers, Akards, Odells, Fains, Gaines, Rollers, and Crosses. 

The claim is made by the people of Sullivan County that the 
first permanent settlements in what is now Tennessee were 
made by John and Thomas Sharpe in 1785, who located in the 
Holston Valley; and soon thereafter Joseph Martin, who had 
been with Dr. Thomas Walker on his early pathfinding ex¬ 
pedition, made his home near Kingsport, and that Thomas 


*A large part of the facts herein stated are taken from Historic Sullivan 
County by Oliver Taylor. 





Counties of Tennessee 


41 


Henderson, John Womack, and the father of David Crockett 
came soon afterward. 

In 1771, Evan and Isaac Shelby came, built a fort and 
opened a general store where the city of Bristol now stands, 
partly in Virginia and partly in Tennessee. 

Near the present site of Kingsport was Fort Patrick Henry, 
named for the American patriot and orator, who was Gov¬ 
ernor of Virginia at the time. From this fort John Donelson 
and his fellow argonauts sailed on their long and perilous 
journey down the Tennessee River on December 22, 1779. 
Near here, too, was fought the battle of Island Flats on July 
20, 1776, against the Cherokee Indians under Chief Dragging 
Canoe, in which the Indians were routed with severe loss. In 
this battle distinction was won by Capt. James Shelby, Lieut. 
Robert Davis, Robert Edminston, John Morrison, and Isaac 
Shelby. The last named, a volunteer, without authority gave 
an order which was obeyed and was the means of gaining the 
victory. 

Early educational institutions were King’s College at Bris¬ 
tol, Jefferson Academy and the Masonic Institute at Blount- 
ville. Dr. J. D. Tadlock was for many years the learned and 
beloved president of King’s College. Among other leading 
educators may be mentioned: George Wilhelm, Archimedes 
Davis, J. H. Catron, Dr. A. J. Brown, Rev. T. F. Summers, 
Rev. John King, Rev. W. B. Gale, J. H. Seneker, William 
Daily, and James Snapp. 

Among the brilliant legal lights should be given the fol¬ 
lowing: William Blount, William Cocke, John Netherland, 
Matt Haynes, William Deaderick, C. J. St. John, and John 
Fain. 

Statistics of Sullivan County: population, 1920, 36,259. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $25,577,079. Area, 
410 square miles. Number of farms, 3,314. Railway mileage, 
51. Drained by the Holston River and the head waters of the 
Tennessee River. Fine forests of timber. Soil is fertile. Fine 
deposits of iron ore, and limestone. Staple products are: 
fruits, wheat, corn, oats, grasses, live stock, poultry, eggs, and 
butter. Blountville, the county seat is nine miles southwest 
of Bristol and has a population of about 400, and it has good 
schools and churches, bank and flourishing business establish¬ 
ments. Bristol is in a center of a territory rich in mineral de¬ 
posits. The Tennessee section of the city has a population of 
8,047 and is 131 miles from Knoxville. It is an up-to-date city 
with all modern conveniences. Five railroads enter the city, 
including the Southern and the Norfolk & Western. Bristol 



42 


Counties of Tennessee 


has large lumber interests, a large tannery, and a large num¬ 
ber of manufacturing establishments. A large iron furnace is 
located here. The city has daily and weekly newspapers, fine 
schools and churches, good hotels and mercantile establish¬ 
ments. Kingsport, with a population of 5,692, is a new in¬ 
dustrial town in Sullivan County. It is only a few years old, 
and before and during the World War it employed several 
thousand in the various industries, which include a dye plant, 
cement plant, brick-making plant, a printing plant, and sev¬ 
eral other industries. During the war some of the plants were 
used in the manufacture of munitions. Some of the plants are 
now closed down. Scholastic population of county, 11,463; 
high schools, 6; elementary schools, 77. 


UNICOI COUNTY 

T T NICOI COUNTY was erected on March 19, 1875, out of 
M Washington and Carter Counties and was named 
for the Unicoi Mountain. The name “Unicoi” 
means white. Section 16 of the Act creating this county says: 
“That for the purpose of organizing the county of Unicoi, Wil¬ 
liam Tillson, Esq., Charles Bean, Josiah Sams, James V. John¬ 
son, William Mclnterf, David Bell, Franklin Hannum, Richard 
N. Morris, and Thomas Wright shall be, and they are hereby 
appointed commissioners on the part of the several fractions 
in which they reside.” 

Unicoi County was attached to the first judicial court. 

The first county court was organized on January 3, 1876, 
with the following-named magistrates present: Henry McKin¬ 
ney, A. E. Briggs, D. T. O’Brian, B. W. Woodward, M. C. 
Burchfield, Isaac Gilbert, Alexander Mclnturf, G. E. Tomp¬ 
kins, James M. Norris, R. B. Hensley, R. L. Rowe, Alexander 
Masters, J. M. Anderson, William Parks, G. Garland, J. S. 
Yader, William Mclnturf, and Baptist McNabb. 

The county seat was first named Vanderbilt, which name 
was retained until 1879 when it was changed by the Legislature 
to Ervin. By an error the post office department of the gov¬ 
ernment spelled it Erwin, which spelling it still retains. 

Early settlers were: Jesse Brown, Enoch Job, Richard 
Deakins, George Martin, William Lewis, James Acton, Jona¬ 
than Webb, Robert Hampton. In the early days, like most of 
the early pioneers of East Tennessee, they suffered much from 
the Indians. The first church was Baptist, established prob¬ 
ably in 1785. 

Unicoi County is rich in timber and mineral resources. 




Counties of Tennessee 


43 


Statistics of Unicoi County: population, 1920, 10,120. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $4,590,561. Area, 
196 square miles. Number of farms, 811. Railway mileage, 
21. Drained by the Nollichucky River and intersected by 
Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Railway. Surface is mountainous. 
Cotton, corn, oats, grasses, and live stock are the staple 
products. Erwin, the county seat, with a population of 2,965, 
is 15 miles south of Johnson City and is a flourishing manu¬ 
facturing town, one of the principal industries being the pro¬ 
duction of chinaware. Erwin has good schools, churches, a 
weekly newspaper and flourishing business establishments. 
Scholastic population of county, 3,163; high school, 1; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 33. 


UNION COUNTY 


U NION COUNTY was erected on January 3, 1850, out of 
Grainger, Claiborne, Campbell, Anderson, and Knox 
Counties, and the following-named men were appointed 
commissioners who organized the county: William T. Carden, 
John F. Huddleston, Ezra Buckner, and William Colvin, of 
Grainger County; Malcijah Nash, J. G. Palmer, and John 
Sharpe, of Claiborne County; Isaac C. Meril Hill and Hazell 
Hill, of Campbell County; James W. Turner, Allen M. Coy, 
and A. E. Carden of Anderson County; Henry Graves and 
Henry G. Roberts, of Knox County. 

But the organization of the county was delayed, for the 
people of Knox County, not relishing the loss of that part of 
the county which was to be taken into the new county, en¬ 
tered suit and secured an injunction against its acting as a 
county. Horace Maynard, who at that time was a member of 
Congress from the First Tennessee District, which embraced 
the proposed new county, defended the suit for Union County 
in prolonged litigation which was finally decided in favor of 
Union County in 1853. 

Because of the valuable services rendered by Mr. Maynard 
in this litigation, the county seat was named Maynardsville. 
The first county court was organized there on February 6, 
1854, with the following-named magistrates present: Elijah 
Evans, John Lowry, William Calvin, G. B. Carden, William 
Needham, J. G. Palmer, Jacob Turner, Calvin B. Howard, and 
Enoch Branson. Complete organization of the county was 
effected in 1856. 

This county is rich in deposits of iron ore, marble, lead, and 
zinc. 

Statistics of Union County: Population, 1920, 11,615. As- 




44 


Counties of Tennessee 


sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $3,877,437. Area, 
220 square miles. Number of farms, 2, 060. Railway mileage, 
7. Drained by the Clinch and Powell Rivers. Surface is moun¬ 
tainous and partly covered with fine timber. Fine deposits of 
iron, zinc, lead and marble are found in the county. Corn, 
oats, wheat, live stock and dairy products are staple. May- 
nardsville, the county seat, has a population of about 500 and 
has good schools, churches, banks, and flourishing business 
establishments. Scholastic population of county, 4,187; high 
schools, 6; elementary schools, 49. 


WASHINGTON COUNTY 

W ASHINGTON COUNTY was erected* by the Gen¬ 
eral Assembly of North Carolina in November, 1777. 
It was formed from Washington District which 
had been detached from Wilkes and Burke Counties and in¬ 
cluded all the present State of Tennessee, although a part of 
it, was thought at the time to belong to Virginia. This 
county has the distinction of being the first political division 
in the United States which was named in honor of George 
Washington. From it all the other counties in Tennessee have 
been carved. It is, therefore, the oldest county in the state 
and was the theatre of the important events which occurred 
in its early history. 

At this session of the Legislature provision was also made 
for opening a land office in Washington County, permission 
being given that each head of a family might take up six hun¬ 
dred and forty acres, his wife and his children one hundred 
acres each, all at the rate of forty shillings per hundred acres. 
The facility with which settlers might obtain lands caused a 
large influx of pioneers immediately, although no wagon road 
had been opened across the mountains. 

At least eight years prior to the formation of this county 
permanent settlers had taken up their abodes on the Watauga, 
as we have seen. The Watauga Association was formed in 
1772, and Henderson’s Purchase of the Transylvania Country 
was made from the Indians by treaty signed in 1775 on the 
Watauga. 

John Carter, who had been chairman of the court of the 
Watauga Association, was appointed colonel of Washington 
County. 


*P ha S ter XXX1 o{ the Law* of N. C., Iredell’s Revisal, page 346. By this 
act the County of Washington was ’’declared to be part of the District of 
Salisbury.” 





Counties of Tennessee 


45 


The county was organized on February 23, 1778, with the 
following-named magistrates in attendance: John Carter, chair¬ 
man, John Sevier, Jacob Womack, Robert Lucas, Andrew 
Greer, John Shelby, George Russell, William Been, Zachariah 
Isbell, John McNabb, Thomas Houghton, William Clark, John 
McMahan, Benjamin Gist, John Chisholm, Joseph Willson, 
William Cobb, James Stuart, Michael Woods, Richard White, 
Benjamin Wilson, James Robertson, and Valentine Sevier. On 
the next day the officers were elected as follows: John Sevier, 
clerk; Valentine Sevier, sheriff; James Stuart, surveyor; John 
Carter, entry-taker; John McMahan, register; Jacob Womack, 
stray-master; John McNabb, coroner. 

The first courthouse was built by Charles Robertson. 
Andrew Jackson lived in Jonesboro when he first came to 
Tennessee and boarded with a Mr. Chester. 

Jonesboro, the oldest town in the state, was selected for 
the county seat. It was named for Willie (pronounced Wylie) 
Jones, who had shown himself friendly to the Watauga set¬ 
tlers when they had sent delegates to Halifax, N. C., to see 
the governor. Jonesboro was laid off in 1779. The first and 
the last Legislatures of the State of Franklin met at Jones¬ 
boro. Many noted men have lived in this historic place. 
Among them were: David Nelson, author of “The Cause and 
Cure of Infidelity”; B. F. Lundy, publisher of an abolition 
paper; W. G. Brownlow, before he moved to Knoxville; Lan- 
don C. Haynes, uncle of Robert L. and Alfred A. Taylor; 
Judge T. A. R. Nelson; and Chief Justice J. W. Deaderick. 

Statistics of Washington County: population, 1920, 34,052. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $24,687,316. 
Area, 344 square miles. Number of farms, 2,865. Railway 
mileage, 59. Drained by the Nollichucky, Watauga, and Hou¬ 
ston Rivers. Surface is diversified with mountains and val¬ 
leys, with forests of fine timber. Mineral resources, iron ore 
and building stone. Intersected by the Southern Railway, and 
other railways are the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio and the 
East Tennessee & Western North Carolina. Jonesboro, the 
county seat, has a population of 815, is on the Southern Rail¬ 
way and has fine schools, churches, newspaper, banks, iron 
foundry, and several manufacturing establishments. Johnson 
City has a population of 12,442 and has a large number of 
manufacturing establishments. It is the seat of the National 
Soldiers’ Home and the East Tennessee Normal. It has daily 
and weekly newspapers and is one of the flourishing cities in 
East Tennessee. Scholastic population of county 10,247; high 
schools, 10; elementary schools, 60. 




MIDDLE TENNESSEE 


BEDFORD COUNTY 


B EDFORD COUNTY was erected on December 3, 1807, 
out of Rutherford County and was named for Thomas 
Bedford. It was organized in 1808. Early settlers were: 
Clement Cannon, Philip Burrow, Freeman Burrow, William 
McMahon, Matt Martin, Barkley Martin, Mrs. Mary Scruggs, 
William Hix, Robert and Henry Hastings, “Sally” Sailors, 
Joseph Tillman, James Reagan, David Floyd, Thomas Gib¬ 
son, and Cuthbert Word. The two Martins and five of their 
brothers served seven years under George Washington. 

Several thousand acres of land in Bedford County were is¬ 
sued by North Carolina to the officers and soldiers of the Con¬ 
tinental Line. Others were issued for the State of Tennesee. 
Among the latter was a grant to Andrew Jackson for land 
near Fall Creek. 

In 1808 the county was organized at the home of Mrs. 
Payne near the head of Mulberry Creek. In 1809 the Legis¬ 
lature passed an act providing for the appointment of a com¬ 
mittee consisting of John Atkinson, William Wood, Barthell 
Martin, Howell Dandy, and David McKissack to locate a 
county site within two miles of the center of the county. 
Afterwards, John Lane and Benjamin Bradford were added to 
the committee. The home of Amos Balch, two or three miles 
southeast of Shelbyville, was the county seat temporarily. It 
was permanently located at Shelbyville* in May, 1810, on land 
donated by Clement Cannon. Shelbyville was incorporated on 
October 7, 1819. 

The first courthouse was erected in 1810 or soon after¬ 
wards. The first chancery court was held in 1836. Prominent 
lawyers of the early days were: Archibald Yell, who was gov¬ 
ernor of Arkansas, 1840-1844, William Gilchrist, I. J. Frierson, 
William H. Wisener, Henry Cooper, Hugh L. Davidson and 
Thomas Whitesides. 

Early physicians were: Doctors J. G. Barksdale, Grant 
Whitney, James Kincade, Frank Blakemore, G. W Foreman 
and John Blakemore. 8 

Famous schools were: Salem Academy, established at Bell- 
buckle in 1820; the Martin School at Fairfield, in 1828* the 
school of Rev. George Newton, started near Wartrace in 1815 
Qr 181.6; Dixon Academy, established in Shelbyville in 1820; 

■"Named for Col. Isaac Shelby. 




Counties of Tennessee 


47 


the Webb School at Bellbuckle; the Brandon Training School 
at Wartrace; and the Tate School at Shelbyville. 

Probably the earliest church was Salem, built about 1807 
near Shelbyville. Rev. John Brooks “rode circuit” in this 
county. 

The war record of Bedford County is remarkable. It fur¬ 
nished a full company in the War of 1812, which took part in 
the battle of New Orleans. Its captain was Barrett, and some 
of the members were: John Farrer, William Hazlett, James 
Gowan, Michael Womack, John L. Neil, James, Philip, and 
William Burrows, John Casteel, William Wood, “Sally” Sail¬ 
ors, Robert Fergison, William P. Finch, John Pool, Andrew 
Mathus, Townsend Fugett, Wesley Rainwater, Benjamin 
Webb, Martin Hancock, J. L. Dillard, John Murphey, Moses 
Pruitt, and James Scott. It furnished a full company under 
Captain Hunter in the second Seminole War. In this company 
were : Lewis Tillman, William Wood, Albert Smell, John Hud- 
low, John Stone, Standards, Thomas, and Abraham McMahon. 
In the War with Mexico it furnished a company under Capt. 
E. W. Frierson. In the War between the States it furnished 
troops to both the Federal and the Confederate Armies in al¬ 
most equal proportions. 

Statistics of Bedford County: population, 1920, 21,737. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $17,532,014. Area, 
550 square miles. Number of farms, 3,340. Railway mileage, 
25. Drained by Duck River and tributaries. Traversed by 
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. Farms are in a 
fine state of cultivation, and staple products are: corn, wheat, 
cotton, grasses, and live stock. Shelbyville, the county seat, 
has a population of 2,912, and is on a branch of the N. C. & 
St. L. Railway. It has an electric light plant, water works, 
cotton factory, a hub and spoke factory, foundry, saw mills, 
planing mills, and other manufacturing enterprises, with good 
banks, churches, schools, and two newspapers. Other pros¬ 
perous towns are: Bellbuckle, Wartrace, Normandy, Flat 
Creek, and Unionville. Scholastic population of county, 7,403; 
high schools, 5; elementary schools 74. 


CANNON COUNTY 


C ANNON COUNTY was erected on January 21, 1836, out 
of Warren, Coffee, Wilson, and Rutherford Counties and 
was named for Newton Cannon, who was Governor at 
that time and who appointed a commission of five members to 
established the lines between Cannon and the adjoining coun- 





48 


Counties of Tennessee 


ties and to lay off a public square at Danville, which was the 
name of the county seat until it was changed to Woodbury in 
honor of Gen. Levi Woodbury. 

Henry D. McBroom and his brother owned most of the 
land on and adjacent to the public square of Woodbury and 
the former gave every alternate lot around it to those who 
would put up a structure on it. He also owned the only hotel 
or inn at that time. He later built the Dillon Hotel, which was 
a historic structure. It was burned in 1907. 

At the time the county was organized the only store in 
Woodbury (Danville) was that of Henry Wiley. 

Among the early pioneers were: Henry D. McBroom, Wil¬ 
liam Hollis, John Wood, Henry Ford, William Mears, Usibel 
Stone, Benjamin Allen, George St. John, William McFerrin, 
Joshua Barton, Archibald Stone, Asa Smith, Elijah Stephens, 
William Preston, Sr., Walter Wood, Benjamin Cummings, 
Sr., Warren Cummings, William Cummings, Sr., John Stone, 
Andrew Melton, Alexander McBroom, William James, John 
Wood, James Todd, Benjamin Hale, John Haley, Archibald 
Hicks, Gideon Rucker, Lonis Jetton, Gabriel Elkins, James 
Avent, and Lemuel Moore. 

The first county court met in May, 1836, at the tavern of 
Henry D. McBroom, with the following-named magistrates 
in attendance: Thomas Powell, Allen Haley, Joseph Simpson, 
Blake Sedgley, Isaac Finley, James L. Essary, Isaac W. El- 
lidge, John Pendleton, I. M. Brown, Elijah Stephens, F. L. 
Turner, C. C. Evans, John Melton, Samuel Lance, William 
Bates. John Martin, William B. Foster, John Frazer, Martin 
Phillips, Lemuel Moore, Reuben Evans, James Goodwin, 
Peter Reynolds, James Batey, Joel Cheatham, and Jonathan 
Fuston. The following-named officials qualified at this meet¬ 
ing: Samuel J. Garrison, county court clerk; George Grizzle, 
sheriff; Alexander F. McFerrin, register; Job Stephens, trus¬ 
tee ; Alexander McKnight, coroner; Henry H. Clifton, ranger; 
William Stone, entry-taker; Hugh Robinson, surveyor. A 
committee of six, consisting of Hugh Robinson, James Clark, 
Arch Stone, William Bates, John B. Stone, and John Brown, 
was appointed to lay off town lots. 

Statistics of Cannon County: population, 1920, 10,241. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $4,248,639. Area, 
280 square miles. Number of farms, 1,992. Railway mileage, 
none. Drained by numerous small streams. Surface is hilly 
and rolling and soil very fertile. Corn, wheat, and live stock 
are staple products. Woodbury, the county seat, has a popula¬ 
tion of 277 and is a flourishing town with good schools, 



Counties of Tennessee 


49 


churches, bank, weekly newspaper, and prosperous mercantile 
establishments. Scholastic population of county, 4,560; high 
schools, 7; elementary schools, 34. 


CHEATHAM COUNTY 


HEATHAM COUNTY was erected on February 28, 



1856, out of parts of Davidson, Robertson, Dickson, and 


Montgomery Counties and was named in honor of Na¬ 
thaniel Cheatham, Speaker of the Senate at this time. Early 
settlers located along the streams. Benjamin Darrow located 
his home near Sycamore Mills about 1790. About the same 
time John Hyde and Howard Alley settled near Pleasant View. 
In 1796 a settlement was made at Ashland City by Robert 
Heaton and Braxton Lee. For the protection of the settlers 
against the Indians a block house was erected at Half Pone. 

The first county court was held at Sycamore Mills on May 
15, 1856, when the following magistrates qualified: W. L. 
Gower, chairman, B. F. Binkley, J. M. Lee, E. L. Hooper, 
Jesse Hooper, N. Crockett, J. L. Majors, R. T. Gupton, W. W. 
Williams, A. J. Bright, and R. L. Weakley. Samuel Watson, 
the first county judge, qualified on the first Monday in June, 
1856. For the county seat, land was bought at Ashland from 
Mr. Lennox. The county court held its sessions at Forest Hill, 
a short distance south of Ashland until November, 1857, when 
its session was held for the first time at Ashland. 

On December 8, 1859, Ashland became an incorporated 
town under the name of Ashland City, but through negligence 
of county officials the charter was forfeited. It was incorporat¬ 
ed again with E. Dozier as mayor about fourteen years ago. 

To Prof. A. S. Link is due, in no small degree, the great 
interest which the people of this county take in education. He 
founded Ashland Institute in 1880, and after one year was 
joined by R. S. Turner. Professor Link also established the 
Link School at Thomasville in 1902. In 1859 Millwood 
Academy was opened at Sycamore by Professors Marvin and 
Lawrence. In 1884 Pleasant View School was opened by 
Prof. W. I. Harper. In 1868 the Sycamore Powder Mills 
bought the entire machinery of the Confederate works at 
Augusta, Ga., and moved it to Sycamore, where it produced 
an important output until 1904. 

At the narrows of the Harpeth River, Montgomery Bell 
carried on the manufacture of iron for many years. 

Statistics of Cheatham County: population, 1920, 10,039. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $4,840,766. Area, 




50 


Counties of Tennessee 


400 square miles. Number of farms, 1,449. Mileage of rail¬ 
way, 28. Drained by Cumberland River and its tributaries. 
Surface is rolling and generally fertile. Has a fine growth of 
timber. Corn, tobacco, wheat, and live stock are staple pro¬ 
ducts. The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway 
and the Tennessee Central Railway traverse the county. Ash¬ 
land City, the county seat, has a population of 649, is on the 
Cumberland River and the Tennessee Central Railway, and 
has good schools, churches, a bank, newspapers, and several 
prosperous business establishments. Scholastic population of 
county, 3,413; high schools, 3; elementary schools, 58. 


CLAY COUNTY 

C LAY COUNTY was named in honor of Henry Clay. It 
was erected December 7, 1870, from nearly equal parts 
of Jackson and Overton Counties. Celina was selected 
for the county seat over Butler’s Landing and Bennett’s Ferry. 
Celina is located at the mouth of Obed River and for many 
years has been one of the most important trading and shipping 
points on the upper Cumberland. 

In that part of Clay County taken from Overton County, 
and in Overton County, John Sevier located 57,000 acres of 
land of the visit to which he refers in his diary, a copy of 
which was secured by the Tennessee Historical Society only 
a few years ago. After his death, in 1815, his widow moved 
to the Dale, known later as the Clark Place in Clay County. 
From there she moved to Alabama where she died. Her re¬ 
mains were removed to Knoxville last year and now repose 
beside those of her distinguished husband. 

Statistics of Clay County: population, 1920, 9,193. Assessed 
valuation of taxable property, 1921, $3,571,848. Area, 217 
square miles. Number of farms, 1,605. Railway mileage, none. 
This county borders on Kentucky and is drained by the Cum¬ 
berland River and its tributary, Obed River. Its surface 
is hilly, and the soil of the river bottoms is very fertile. It 
has fine forests of timber. Corn, tobacco, wheat, oats, and 
live stock are staple products. Celina, the county seat, has a 
population of 420. It is on the Cumberland River and has 
good schools, churches, a bank, a weekly newspaper, and a 
number of prosperous mercantile establishments. Scholastic 
population of county, 3,077; high schools, 4; elementary 
schools, 45. 





Counties of Tennessee 


51 


COFFEE COUNTY 


^2 


C 


C OFFEE COUNTY was organized on May ^2, 1846, and 
was originally composed of Warren, Franklin, and Bed¬ 
ford Counties. It was named in Honor of Gen John 
Coffee. By act of the Legislature, passed on January 8, 1836, 
the following named commissioners were appointed to run the 
boundary lines of the new county and to locate the county seat: 
Hugh Davidson, Alexander Blakely, David Hickerson, Thomas 
Powers, William Bradshaw, and Lecil Bobo. They selected a 
site on the lands of James Evans and Andrew Haynes, who, 
on March 1, 1836, donated two hundred acres to the county 
for this purpose. In March, 1836, also, the following-named 
men were elected magistrates from the ten civil districts into 
which the county had been divided: Adam Rayburn, John G. 
Walker, Alfred Ashley, John Lusk, Larkin Burham, Robert S. 
Rayburn, Alexander Downey, James Yell, Gabriel Jones, Wil¬ 
liam Hodge, Johnson Garrett, Josiah Berry, John Charles, 
William Montgomery, Wade Stroud, Lecil Bobo, John W. 
Camden, Jesse Wooten, James M. Arnold, and William 


x Holme 
"^Th 


ing house on the site of Manchester. ' John W. Camden was 
made chairman and the following officers qualified: Daniel 
McLean, county court clerk; John Bell, sheriff; James A. 
Brantley, register; Moses F. White, trustee; William P. Har¬ 
ris, coroner. 

The sessions of the county court were held in the log house 
used by the Baptists as a church until 1837, when a courthouse 

was erected. 


The circuit court was organized in June, 1836, with Samuel 
Anderson as a judge and James Whiteside as attorney-general. 
Its sessions were held in the log house of a private citizen. 

It is said that Manchester, the county seat, was named for 
Manchester, England, because it was thought that the Coffee 
County capitol would, in time, be famed like its imagined 
prototype, for its iron manufactures. 

Near Manchester, in the forks of Duck River, is what is 
known as Stone Fort, evidently a fortification of some pre¬ 
historic race. It encloses an area of thirty-seven acres, and 
from its walls of loose stones covered with earth have grown 


trees of great age. 

Statistics of Coffee County: population, 1920, 17,344. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $9,405,734. Area, 
about 350 square miles. Number of farms, 2,314. Railway 





52 


Counties of Tennessee 


mileage, 29. This county is situated at the western base of the 
Cumberland Mountains and is traversed by the Nashville, 
Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. The soil is a mixture of 
loam and sand, with a good clay subsoil, and is easily worked. 
Fruits and vegetables can be produced in great abundance. 
Tobacco cultivation is becoming extensive. Staple products 
are wheat, corn, oats, tobacco, and live stock. The county is 
drained by Duck River and its tributaries. Manchester, the 
county seat, has a population of 1,114, is on the north fork of 
Duck River and on the N. C. & St. L. Railway. It has 
churches, schools, banks, two weekly newspapers, waterworks, 
and many prosperous business establishments. Tullahoma, on 
the main line of the N. C. & St. L. Railway, has a population 
of 3,479, has fine schools, churches, banks, a weekly newspaper, 
an electric light plant, and numerous manufacturing establish¬ 
ments and prosperous stores. Scholastic population of county, 
5,812; high schools, 3; elementary schools, 61. 


DAVIDSON COUNTY 


D AVIDSON COUNTY was created by an act of the 
Legislature of North Carolina, approved October 6, 
1783. It originally included most of the territory west 
of the Cumberland Mountains now included in Middle Ten¬ 
nessee. It was named for Gen. William Lea Davidson, con¬ 
cerning whom Mr. Hugh Davidson, of Shelbyville, says: “Gen. 
William Lea Davidson was killed at Cowan’s Ford, N. C., Feb¬ 
ruary 1, 1781, while resisting the advance of British troops 
commanded by Colonel Hall. Davidson County, N. C., David¬ 
son College, Davidsonville, and Davidson River were named 
in his honor. Also, Davidson County, Tenn., and Davidson 
Academy. His widow, who was Miss Mary Brevard, a daugh¬ 
ter of John Brevard, came with her family at a very early date 
near Nashville and experienced the dangers and privations of 
pioneer life. 

“It was believed by General Davidson’s friends and rela¬ 
tions in North Carolina that he was killed by a renegade Tory, 
Frederick Hager, as his body was pierced by a bullet from 
what was considered a small bored gun at that time and Hager 
was known to carry that gun at that time. After the Revolu¬ 
tionary War, Hager, together with several others of his rene¬ 
gade class, fled to Tennessee. About 1811, John Davidson and 
Hugh Davidson came out from Buncombe County, N. C. The 
first settled on “Union Ridge” and the latter about two miles 
up Duck River from Normandy. Hager, hearing of these two 




Counties of Tennessee 


53 


Davidsons, fled again, this time to the wilderness of Arkansas, 
to a point on the Arkansas River now known as Six Post, 
where he finished his miserable existence, leaving a large 
family. 

“Gen. William Lea Davidson was a first cousin of Maj. Wil¬ 
liam Davidson, 4th N. C. Reg. Cont. Line. From Maj. William 
Davidson descend the Davidson family and the Hons. George 
N. and Abram Tillman, of Nashville.” 

When Davidson county was formed, the county seat was 
named Nashborough, after Gen. Francis Nash, of North Caro¬ 
lina, who was killed in the battle of Germantown. The name 
was changed to Nashville by act of the North Carolina Legis¬ 
lature in 1784. In this year the first courthouse was built of 
hewn logs, was eighteen feet square with a lean-to of twelve 
feet. 

Statistics of Davidson County: population, 1920, 167,815. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, 197,134,968. 
Area, 508 square miles. Number of farms, 3,051. Railway 
mileage, 150. Drained by the Cumberland River and its tribu¬ 
taries. Its surface is gently undulating and in some sections 
is well timbered. Soil is fertile and well adapted to diversified 
agriculture. The county successfully produces 67 different 
field crops and 54 varieties of garden vegetables. Ten varie¬ 
ties of berries are grown in the county, and more than a dozen 
varieties of other fruits. The county has a fine system of 
free turnpikes. Staple products are: corn, wheat, cotton, oats, 
grass, fruits, and live stock. Dairying industry has increased 
largely in the last few years. Nashville, the county seat and 
capital of the state, has a population of 118,342. It is situated 
on the Cumberland River, which is navigable below Nashville 
to the Ohio and above Nashville to Point Burnside, Ky., a 
distance of about 350 miles, during a part of the year. Gov¬ 
ernment locks and dams make the river navigable for all the 
year as far as Carthage, and it is expected that the system will 
be completed to Point Burnside. Besides the river, Nashville 
has excellent transportation facilities in the Louisville & Nash¬ 
ville Railway, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, 
and the Tennessee Central Railway. The city has splendid 
streets and owns its own electric light and water plants. The 
city has nearly 100 miles of electric railway and two interurban 
lines reaching towns in adjoining counties. Nashville is one 
of the largest jobbing centers in the South, supplying a large 
territory in Tennessee and adjoining states. It is a large 
manufacturing center, its industries giving employment to 
many thousands of wage earners. It is one of the largest hard- 




54 


Counties of Tennessee 


wood lumber markets in the United States, and its milling in¬ 
terests are larger than those of any other Southern city. It is 
a large boot and shoe market and engages largely in the man¬ 
ufacture of these articles. Its daily newspapers have wide cir¬ 
culations and large influence. Its book and periodical business 
is the largest of any city in the South, and it is the second 
largest religious publication center in the United States. It 
is a financial center, its banks having combined assets of $60, 
000,000. Clearings for 1921 amounted to $845,509,813.12. Its 
public schools are as good as those of any city in the country, 
and its other institutions of learning, including Vanderbilt 
University, Peabody College for Teachers, and Ward-Belmont 
College for young women have made it famous in all the 
branches of learning. Information will be furnished by the 
Chamber of Commerce of Nashville. Scholastic population of 
county, 50,835; high schools, 17; elementary schools 86. 


DeKALB COUNTY 

D eKALB COUNTY was erected in 1837 out of parts of 
White, Warren, Cannon, Wilson, and Jackson Counties 
and was named for Baron DeKalb, an officer in the 
Revolutionary War who had fallen at Camden, New Jersey. 
The act creating this county provided that the first court 
should be held at the house of Bernard Richardson, near Smith- 
ville, which was chosen for the county seat and named for 
John Smith Bryan, who was commonly called “Smith.” The 
committee appointed to select the county seat was: Thomas 
Durham, Joseph Banks, Thomas Allen, Watson Cantrell, and 
Joseph Clark. 


Bernard Richardson gave to the county fifty acres for the 
county seat, a part of which was laid out in lots which were 
sold at public sale. 

On March 5, 1838, the county was organized with the fol¬ 
lowing-named magistrates in attendance: Lemuel Moore, 
chairman, Reuben Evans, Joseph Turney, Thomas Simpson! 
John Martin, Watson Cantrell, David Fisher, William Scott, 
Samuel Strong, Henry Burton, Martin Phillips, John Frazier! 
Joel Cheatham, Jonathan Fuston, Peter Reynolds, and James 
Batey. 

A. J. Marchbanks was the first circuit judge and B. L. 
Ridley the first chancellor. 

The first settlement in DeKalb County was made in 1797 
by Adam Dale, who came from Maryland and located on 




Counties of Tennessee 


55 


Smith’s Fork Creek near Liberty and erected there the first 
mill in the county. 

Other early settlers were: Thomas Whaley, Josiah Duncan, 
Henry Burton, Thomas West, William and John Dale, James 
and William Bratton, William and George Givan, the Walkers, 
the Pruitts, Jacob and Abraham Overall, Robin Forester, Reu¬ 
ben Evan, Matthew Sellers, Benjamin Blades, Nicholas Smith, 
Benjamin Garrison, Jesse Allen, Martin Phillips, Brition John¬ 
son, Giles Driver, Levi Bozarth, David Taylor, P. G. Magness, 
Zachariah Lefever, John Wooldridge, Bernard Richardson, 
William Adcock, Wm. Floyd, John Vantrease, Jonathan and 
Stewart Doss, E. Turner, James Goodner, Edmund Turner, 
William GrandstafF, Thomas Simpson, and William Wright. 

Statistics of DeKalb County: population, 1920, 15,370. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,497,060. Area, 
310 square miles. Number of farms, 2, 792. Railway mileage, 
none. Drained by the Caney Fork River. Surface is hilly in 
part and well covered with timber. The soil is fertile and the 
stable products are corn, wheat, and live stock. Splendid fruit¬ 
growing section. Has some deposits of zinc and clay. Smith- 
ville, the county seat, has a population of 687, good schools 
and churches, a weekly newspaper, bank, flourishing stores, 
flour mill, and spoke and handle factory. Alexandria has a 
population of 510, has good schools and churches, bank and 
prosperous business establishments. Liberty is another thriv¬ 
ing town in DeKalb County. Scholastic population of county, 
4,728; high schools, 5; elementary schools, 71. 


DICKSON COUNTY 

D ICKSON COUNTY was erected on October 3, 1803, out 
of part of Robertson and part of Montgomery Counties 
and was named for William Dickson, a member of 
Congress, representing the Mero District. Its first settlements 
began about 1793 when a large body of land was granted by 
the State of North Carolina to Robert Bell and described as 
being located on Jones Creek. In February of the same year 
the Cumberland Furnace, the earliest furnace in the West, was 
started by James Robertson, by whom it was sold to Mont¬ 
gomery Bell. All deeds were proven before Andrew Jackson, 
one of the judges of the Superior Court of Law and Equity. 

The first county and circuit courts were held at the home 
of James Nesbit, on Barton’s Creek, a few miles from Char¬ 
lotte. It was organized by the following-named magistrates: 




56 


Counties of Tennessee 


Montgomery Bell, William Doak, Sterling Brewer, William 
Russell, Gabriel Allen, William Teas, Samuel Harvey, Richard 
Napier, and Jesse Croft. 

In 1804 the town of Charlotte, named for Aunt Charlotte 
Robertson, one of the early settlers, was laid off by a man 
named Ash, who reserved the central lot for a courthouse. In 
1806 it became the county seat. Tracy Academy, a noted edu¬ 
cational institution, was established there about 1830. Be¬ 
tween 1810 and 1812 the county buildings were completed, and 
for the next twenty or twenty-five years Charlotte was a place 
of much importance. From 1819 to 1821 the supreme court 
held regular sessions there. 

Early settlers in this county were: John Nesbitt, Mont¬ 
gomery Bell, Richard Napier, Abraham Caldwell, and Hudson 
Johnson. 

On May 12, 1810, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was 
organized at the home of Rev. Samuel McAdoo, near the pres¬ 
ent city of Dickson, and its centennial celebration was fitting¬ 
ly observed in 1910. 

In consequence of the effort made, fifteen or twenty years 
ago, to move the county seat from Charlotte to Dickson, the 
county now has a courthouse at each of these towns and two 
circuits and chancery courts, an arrangement which has proved 
eminently satisfactory. 

In 1897 an effort was made to establish a Socialist Colony 
in this county, which effort attracted nation-wide attention. 
J. A. Wayland, of Greencastle, Ind., located a company at 
Tennessee City and established there a periodical entitled 
“The Coming Nation.” Dissension arose and Wayland went 
away, but those of the colony who remained secured a site on 
Yellow Creek at the noted Adam’s Cave, six miles north of 
Tennessee City, where, under new leadership, they began 
operating again, continued the publication of “The Coming 
Nation,” and named the enterprise The Ruskin Colony. Dis¬ 
sensions, however, again arose, a legal battle ensued and the 
effort ended in disaster. The remnant of the colony removed 
to Waycross, Ga. Ruskin Cave and the site of the former 
colony are now the property of the Ruskin Cave College 
Company. 

Statistics of Dickson County: population, 1920, 19,342. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,617,329. Area, 
620 square miles. Number of farms, 2,544. Railway mileage, 
49. Drained by the Cumberland River and its tributary, Har- 
peth River. Surface undulating, partly covered with forest. 
Soil is fertile and the staple products are corn, wheat, tobacco, 



Counties of Tennessee 


57 


and live stock. Charlotte, the county seat, has a population of 
200, is 12 miles from the N. C. & St. L. Railway and has good 
schools and churches, a bank and flourishing stores. Dickson, 
on the N. C. & St. L. Railway, is a town of 2,263 population 
and has excellent schools, churches, a weekly newspaper, man¬ 
ufacturing establishments, banks, and stores doing large busi¬ 
ness. Scholastic population of county, 6,488; high schools, 4; 
elementary schools, 79. 


FENTRESS COUNTY 


F ENTRESS COUNTY was erected in 1823 out of Overton 
and Morgan Counties and was named for James Fentress, 
Speaker of the House of Representatives for five consecu¬ 
tive terms, from 1814-1823. Jamestown, the county seat, was 
named for his praenomen. Before this action it was called 
Sand Springs. In 1827, John M. Clemens, father of Samuel 
Clemens (Mark Twain) was a lawyer residing in Jamestown 
and the Obedstown of the “Gilded Age” was the Jamestown 
of that time, now familiarly known as Jimtown. 

The first court was held at Three Forks of the Wolf’s 
River. The first courthouse* was built in 1828 and James¬ 
town was incorporated in 1837. 

Among the first settlers were: Conrad Pile, Pearson Miller, 
Arthur Frogge, John Riley, and Moses Poor. 

Obey’s River, or Obed River, is said to have been named 
for one of the long hunters, Obadiah Terrill. 

This county was the home of the notorious Federal bush¬ 
whacker, “Tinker Dave” Beattie, and of Calvin Logston, who, 
with others, perpetrated cruel and bloody deeds in reconstruc¬ 
tion times, and also of Marsha Millsaps, who, in 1843, was 
charged with being a witch, and of “Old Man” Stout who, in 
1835, was accused of practicing witchcraft. 

As is well known, this county is the home of the famous 
Sergeant Alvin C. York, whose wonderful exploit in the World 
War is familiar to everybody. History will record him as 
Fentress County’s most illustrious citizen of all times. 

Statistics of Fentress County: Population, 1920, 10,435. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $3,639,378. Area, 
510 square miles. Number of farms, 1,214. Railway mileage, 
25. Drained by Obed, Clear Fork ,and Wolf Rivers, tributaries 
of the Cumberland River, and by Clear Creek, a tributary of 


♦ The plan for this courthouse was made by Mark Twain’s father, who was 
the first circuit court clerk of Fentress County and by far the largest land 
owner. It is said that he was the Si Hawkins of the “Gilded Age.” 





Counties of Tennessee 


58 


the Tennessee River. The eastern three-fourths of the county 
is high tableland. The northern portion is the Wolf River 
Valley, a fertile farming section, where is situated the farm 
given to Sergeant Alvin C. York, World War hero. Coal 
mines are operated in the western and eastern parts of the 
county and there are large areas of undeveloped coal lands. 
Plateau and the mountain sides are covered with fine timber. 
Natural grasses make fine grazing for cattle. Jamestown, the 
county seat, has a population of about 700, is a growing town, 
with good schools and churches, manufacturing establish¬ 
ments, prosperous stores, bank, etc. Fentress County is the 
only county in Tennessee, thus far, to produce crude oil in 
paying quantities. Jamestown, the county seat, has been made 
historic as the Obedstown of Mark Twain’s “Gilded Age.” 
Mark Twain’s father at one time lived in Fentress County, 
owning large areas of land. The first American soldier wound¬ 
ed in France was from Fentress County, as was the World 
War’s greatest hero. Scholastic population of county, 3,612; 
high schools, 8; elementary schools, 56. 


FRANKLIN COUNTY 

F RANKLIN COUNTY was erected on December 3, 1807, 
from Warren and Bedford Counties and was named in 
honor of Benjamin Franklin. The county seat was named 
Winchester for Gen. James Winchester. The site of Win¬ 
chester was purchased from Christopher for one dollar. No 
courts, however, were held in Winchester until 1814. The first 
county court was held at the home of Maj. William Russell 
in 1808. 

According to tradition the earliest settlers were: Maj. Wil¬ 
liam Russell and Jesse Bean, both of whom arrived about 1800. 

A large number of men eminent in the history of the state 
have been citizens of Franklin County. Among them may be 
mentioned: Judge Nathan Green, Thomas Fletcher, Edward 
Venable, Hopkins L. Turney and his son, Gov. Peter Turney, 
Dr. F. J. Campbell, A. S. Colyar, Gov. A. S. Marks, Thomas 
Gregory, and Gov. Isham G. Harris. The most famous edu¬ 
cational institution of learning in the county and one of the 
most famous in the United States is the University of the 
South, founded in 1857 by Bishop Leonidas Polk at Sewanee. 
Besides this, however, two other notable institutions were 
established in this county—the Winchester Normal, founded in 
1878, and the Mary Sharpe College, founded in 1850. 

Statistics of Franklin County: population, 1920, 20,641. 




Counties of Tennessee 


50 


Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $14,207,894. 
Area, 570 square miles. Number of farms, 2,230. Railway 
mileage, 63. This county is drained by the Elk River and 
numerous small streams. Surface is hilly or table lands with 
a fine growth of timber. Staple products are corn, wheat, to¬ 
bacco, cotton, hay and live stock. The N. C. & St. L. Rail¬ 
way intersects the county. Winchester, the county seat with 
a population of 2,203, is on a branch of the N. C. & St. L. 
Railway, 85 miles from Nashville, and has good schools and 
churches, a weekly newspaper, banks, manufacturing establish¬ 
ments, and flourishing stores. Decherd, with a population of 
815, is another flourishing town with good schools and 
churches and prosperous business establishments. Scholastic 
population of county, 7,691; high schools, 3; elementary 
schools, 74. 


GILES COUNTY 

G ILES COUNTY was erected on November 14, 1809, 
formed from a part of Maury County and named in honor 
of Gov. William B. Giles,* of Virginia, at the suggestion 
of Andrew Jackson. For the county seat a site was selected as 
near the center of the county as practicable and it was named 
Pulaski, in honor of Count Pulaski, of Poland, who has 
espoused the American cause in the Revolutionary War and 
was killed at Savannah in 1779. 

The act establishing this county appointed James Ross, 
Nathaniel Moody, Tyree Rhodes, Gabriel Bumpass, and 
Thomas Whitson commissioners to select the county site and 
sell lots, reserving two acres for the public square on which 
the courthouse and stocks should be erected. The site selected 
was on the land “South and West of the Congressional Reser¬ 
vation Line”; and, consequently, being Indian land, the title 
to it could not be given until the restriction was removed on 
November 14, 1812. 

The act establishing the county provided also for organiz¬ 
ing a circuit court to be held on the second Monday in June 
and December, and also a court of Pleas and Quarter Session, 
whose first session was held on the third Monday in February 
at the home of Lewis Kirk, when the following-named officers 
qualified: German Lester, clerk; James Buford, sheriff; James 
Westmoreland, register; and Nelson Patterson, chairman. 

*He was a Senator in Congress at the time Tennessee sought admittance into 
the Union and was an earnest and influential advocate of her admission when 
strong opposition developed. 





60 


Counties of Tennessee 


The first circuit court was held probably in June, 1810. 
Thomas H. Stewart was judge; James Barry, clerk; and Amos 
Balch, attorney-general. 

William Crawson and others made the first permanent set¬ 
tlement probably in 1805, near the mouth of Richland Creek. 
Some pioneers who settled on the lands south and west of the 
Reservation Line were repeatedly ejected by the United States 
soldiers stationed at Fort Hampton on Elk River, who de¬ 
stroyed their houses, crops and fences. 

The first water power mill was established by Nathaniel 
Moody in 1809, on Robertson Creek. In 1810, Lewis Brown 
built the first horse-power mill. Daniel Allen built a power 
plant a little later, the saltpeter being obtained from a cave in 
Maury County. Lester Morris had the first cotton gin in 1810. 

Early lawyers were: John Minns, W. H. Field, W. C. 
Flournoy, John H. Rivers, Gov. Aaron V. Brown, Adam Hunts¬ 
man, Gov. Neill S. Brown, Robert Rose, Alfred Harris, Luns¬ 
ford M. Bramlett, and Davidson Netherland. 

Educational institutions of importance: Pulaski Academy, 
chartered November 30, 1809, Martin College, and Massey 
School. 

Probably the first church established was by the Baptists in 
1808, followed in 1809 by the Methodists and in 1810 by the 
Presbyterians. 

It was in Giles County that Sam Davis was captured on 
November 20, 1863, and he was executed at Pulaski. 

At Pulaski the Ku Klux Klan was organized by John C. 
Lester, James R. Crowe, John Kennedy, Calvin Jones, Richard 
R. Reed, and Frank O. McCord. 

Statistics of Giles County: population, 1920, 30,948. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $21,651,634. Area, 
656 square miles. Number of farms, 5,299. Railway mileage, 
53. Drained by Elk River and Richland Creek. This county 
borders on Alabama, and its surface is undulating, with some 
sections well timbered. The soil is very productive, and it is 
one of the few cotton producing counties is Tennessee. Corn, 
cotton, fruit, and live stock are staple products. County is 
intersected by the L. & N. Railroad. Pulaski, the county seat, 
has a population of 2,780 and is on the L. & N. Railroad, 81 
miles from Nashville. It is a flourishing town with two weekly 
newspapers, strong banks, fine churches and schools, and 
flourishing manufacturing and business establishments. Pu¬ 
laski ships 8,000 to 10,000 bales of cotton annually. Lynville, 
with a population of 552, is another flourishing town. Scholas- 



Counties of Tennessee 


61 


tic population of county, 10,264; high schools, 11; elementary 
schools, 106. 


GRUNDY COUNTY 


G | RUNDY COUNTY was erected on January 29, 1844, 
p from parts of Coffee and Warren Counties and named 
for Felix Grundy, who, together with Samuel B. Barrett 
and others, had been dealing extensively in the mountain lands 
of that section. The act which created this county appointed 
Adrain Northcutt and William Dugan, residents of that part 
of the county taken from Warren, and John Burrows and Al¬ 
fred Braley, residents of that part taken from Coffee, com¬ 
missioners to organize Grundy County. The act also designat¬ 
ed Beersheba Springs as a place for holding the first courts. 

The first county court organized on August 6, 1844, with 
the following-named magistrates in attendance: Adrain North¬ 
cutt, John Fults, William Dugan, Ambrose Killian, Robert 
Tate, Isaac Campbell, Stephen M. Griswold, James Lockhart, 
John Burrows, Thomas Warren, and Daniel Sain. 

The following officers, who had been elected on July 8, 
1844, qualified: Philip Roberts, sheriff; Reuben Webb, county 
court clerk; Abraham Jones, register; John Burrows, trustee. 
The court then elected Stephen M. Griswold, entry-taker; 
William S. Mooney, surveyor; and Richard M. Stepp, coroner. 

Beginning with the next session the courts were held con¬ 
tinuously at the house of Jesse Wooten until October, 1848, 
when the county seat was established at Altamont. Later, 
Tracy City was made the county seat. 

Tracy City was the first home of the great Tennessee Coal, 
Iron & Railway Company, now located near Birmingham. It 
was established by the late A. S. Colyar. 

A large colony of Swiss located near Altamont has done 
much for the material progress of the county. 

Statistics of Grundy County: population, 1920, 9,753. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $2,691,248. Area, 
325 square miles. Number of farms, 563. Railway mileage, 
30. Drained by numerous small streams. The surface is from 
1,800 to 2,200 feet above sea level. The county is well adapted 
to the live-stock industry, having fine grazing lands. Staple 
products are corn, hay, fruits, and live stock. Tracy City, the 
principal town, has a population of 2,669, and is the center of 
large coal and iron industries. Large deposits of these min¬ 
erals are found. Tracy City has good schools and churches, 
furnace, manufacturing establishments, and' stores. It is on a 




62 


Counties of Tennessee 


branch of the N. C. & St. L. Railway. Altamont, the county 
seat, has a population of 114 and is a flourishing town. Schol¬ 
astic population of county, 3,590, high schools, 4; elementary 
schools, 31. 


HICKMAN COUNTY* 

H ICKMAN COUNTY was erected on December 3, 1807, 
from a part of Dickson County and was named in honor 
of Edmund Hickman, a surveyor, who, in 1785, together 
with James Robertson and Robert Weakley, came to survey 
entered lands on Pine River. On that trip Hickman was 
killed by the Indians near the mouth of Defeated Creek on 
Duck River, within a mile of the present city of Centerville, 
the county seat. 

The first permanent settlement was made by Adam Wilson 
on Pine River in 1817. In 1819 the county was organized. 
The commissioners appointed to run and mark the lines of 
the county were: David Love, Joel Walker, John S. Primm, 
and Joseph Lynn. 

The first county seat was Vernon (chosen in 1810), which 
was succeeded by Centerville, located in 1822, on land donated 
by John C. McLemore and Charles Stewart. The act which 
created the county provided that a court of Pleas and Quarter 
Sessions should meet on the first Monday of January, April, 
July, and October at the house of William Joslin on Pine River. 
The first justices of the peace were: Thomas Petty, William 
Wilson, James Miller, Robert Dunning, and Alexander Gray. 
William Wilson was chairman of the first session of the court. 
He was the father of the first white child (James Wilson, 
born on December 27, 1806) born in Hickman County. This 
court elected the following officers: William Phillips, sheriff; 
John Easley, trustee; Bartholomew G. Stewart, register; 
Joseph Lynn, ranger; and William Stone, clerk. 

Statistics of Hickman County: population, 1920, 16,216. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,718,790. Area, 
640 square miles. Number of farms, 1,928. Railway mileage, 
46. Drained by Duck River. Soil fertile and well adapted to 
the live-stock industry. Staple products are wheat, corn, oats, 
grasses, and tobacco. Phosphate deposits are found in the 
county, and there are fine beds of iron ore. Centerville, the 
county seat, has a population of 882, with good schools, 
churches, weekly newspaper, bank, wagon factory, saw mill, 

*The facts in this sketch were obtained largely from Spence’s History of 
Hickman County. 








Counties of Tennessee 


63 


and prosperous mercantile establishments. Scholastic popula¬ 
tion of county, 5,253; high schools, 6; elementary schools, 93. 


HOUSTON COUNTY 


H OUSTON COUNTY was erected on January 21, 1871, 
from parts of Dickson, Humphreys, and Stewart Coun¬ 
ties and was named in honor of Sam Houston. The 
act provided for a part of Montgomery County to be included, 
also subject to the vote of the people of the part in question. 
But these people voted against inclusion in the new county. 

The first county court was held in the Union Church, in 
Erin, on April 3, 1871. N. McKinnon was the chairman. On 
April 21, 1871, Arlington was selected as the county seat, and 
the courthouse was completed about a year later, and the coun¬ 
ty court convened in it on May 6, 1872. In 1878, Erin be¬ 
came the county seat. 

The first officers of the county were: J. S. Lee, clerk; J. J. 
Pollard, court clerk, R. C. Rushing, sheriff; J. W. Hall, trustee; 
S. T. Allen, trustee; C. S. Humphreys, register. 

The first circuit court met on April 4, 1871. 

The early settlements began about 1798 or 1799 when 
Henry Edwards and his family located at Stewart Station. 
Other pioneers followed in the next few years. One of them 
was the father of Judge Jo C. Guild, who speaks interestingly 
and affectionately of the people of Houston County in his 
book “Old Times in Tennessee.” Other pioneers were Fred 
Boone, a relative of Daniel Boone, Daniel Buchanan, a man of 
tremendous strength, and Dr. Marable. It is said that William 
Murrell, a brother of John A. Murrell, taught school in what is 
now Houston County between 1820 and 1830. 

Statistics of Houston County: population, 1920, 6,212. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $3,111,066. Area, 
210 square miles. Number of farms, 724. Railway mileage, 
20. Drained by the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. Sur¬ 
face is hilly and soil fertile. Some sections are well covered 
with timber. Staple products are corn, tobacco, grass, and 
fruits. Erin, the county seat, with a population of 855, is near 
the Cumberland River, 28 miles from Clarksville. It has good 
churches and schools, a weekly newspaper, bank, and manu¬ 
facturing establishments. Scholastic population of county,. 
2,454; high schools, 1; elementary schools, 30. 




64 


Counties of Tennessee 


HUMPHREYS COUNTY 

H UMPHREYS COUNTY was erected on October 19, 
1809, out of part of Stewart County and was named in 
honor of Perry W. Humphreys, a judge of the Superior 
Court of Law and Equity, 1807-1809, and held the first court 
in this county. 

The act creating the county provided that the first court 
should be held at the house of Samuel Parker, Jr., on Trace 
Creek, about two miles from Waverly. 

The first county seat was established in 1816 at Reynolds- 
ville, which was named for John B. Reynolds, then a represen¬ 
tative in Congress. The Supreme Court, also, at that time 
held its sessions in Reynoldsville for that division of the state. 
The site of the county seat was on fifty acres of land donated 
by Alexander Brevard. When Benton County was erected in 
1835, largely from territory previously included in Humphreys 
County, the county seat was moved to Waverly, which was 
named for Scott’s Waverly novels. The site of Waverly was 
donated by Davis Childress and the survey was made by 
Isaac Little in 1836. 

Probably the first settlement in the county was made by 
Moses Box in 1800 at a point on Trace Creek, but develop¬ 
ment was slow on account of the depredations of the Indians. 

Humphreys County has been conspicious in all of the wars 
in which Tennessee has taken part, and in the War between 
the States furnished more soldiers than it had voters. It was 
at Johnsonville in this county where Forrest captured the 
Federal gunboats and destroyed five million dollars worth of 
Federal property. 

Statistics of Humphreys County: population, 1920, 13,482. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,514,498. Area, 
420 square miles. Number of farms, 1,805. Railway mileage, 
27. Drained by the Tennessee and Duck Rivers. Fine tim¬ 
ber in some sections. Its surface is partly hilly, but the land 
along the rivers is very fertile. This is the largest peanut 
producing county in the state, and this is an important indus¬ 
try. Other staples are wheat, corn, cotton, grasses, and live 
stock. The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway 
traverses the county. Waverly, the county seat, has a popula¬ 
tion of 1,054, with good churches, schools, weekly newspaper, 
general stores, and manufacturing establishments. McEwen is 
another flourishing town in Humphreys County and has a pop¬ 
ulation of 635, with good schools, churches, bank, newspaper, 
and business houses. Scholastic population of county, 4,817; 
high schools, 4; elementary schools, 71. 



Counties of Tennessee 


65 


JACKSON COUNTY 

J ACKSON COUNTY was erected in 1801 from a part of 
Smith County and was named in honor of Andrew Jackson, 
who, at that time, was a judge of the Superior Court of 
Law and Equity, having, since 1796, resigned both as a mem¬ 
ber of the House of Representatives and as a member of the 
Senate of the United States. 

Early settlers came in soon after the establishment of Nash¬ 
ville ; and as the Indians were a menace a fort, named Fort 
Blount after Gov. William Blount, was erected in this county 
on the Cumberland River as a protection for the settlers and 
travelers. 

Gainesboro, the county seat of Jackson County, named for 
Gen. Edmund Pendleton Gaines, was established in 1817 and 
incorporated in 1820. 

Statistics of Jackson County: population, 1920, 14,955. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $5,981,662. Area, 
280 square miles. Number of farms, 2,403. Railway mileage, 
none. Drained by Cumberland River and tributaries. Surface 
is hilly and well covered with timber. Soil along the river and 
in the valleys is very fertile. Staple products are corn, wheat, 
tobacco, grass, and live stock. Splendid county for fruit-grow¬ 
ing. Gainesboro, the county seat, has a population of 351 and 
is near the Cumberland River. It has good schools and 
churches, one bank, a weekly newspaper, and flourishing stores. 
Granville is another flourishing town in the county. Scholastic 
population of county, 6,022; high schools, 4; elementary 
schools, 60. 


LAWRENCE COUNTY 

L AWRENCE COUNTY was erected in 1817 out of part of 
Hickman and part of Maury Counties and named in honor 
of Capt. James Lawrence, of the Chesapeake, who, when 
mortally wounded,said to his men: “Don’t give up the ship.” 

The earliest settlement was made near Henryville on the 
Big Buffalo River and soon were established (about 1815) a 
grain mill, a distillery and a Primitive Baptist Church. From 
this time population increased rapidly, and in a few years 
Lawrence became one of the most enterprising of the pioneer 
counties of the section. Prominent among the early settlers 
were: the Parkes family, the Striblings, Sykes brothers, 
Simms, and Bentleys. 

Soon after the county was organized David Crockett ar- 




66 


Counties of Tennessee 


rived and lived there for several years. He became a mem¬ 
ber of the county court and of the building committee which 
erected the first courthouse. Having gotten in debt, he sold 
his lands and moved to West Tennessee. \ Last year a splen¬ 
did monument was erected to his memory in Lawrenceburg. 

Lawrenceburg was chartered on November 23, 1819. In 
the years preceding the Civil War, Wayland Springs was noted 
as a resort for health and pleasure. 

Lawrence County is justly proud of its record in war. On 
the public square of Lawrenceburg stands a monument to 
those who lost their lives in the Mexican War, the only me¬ 
morial of the kind, it is believed, in the State of Tennessee. It 
was erected in 1849, and the state contributed $1,500 toward 
the cost of it. 

Statistics of Lawrence County: population, 1920, 23,593. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $11,386,098. 
Area, 676 square miles. Number of farms, 3,590. Railway 
mileage, 62. Drained by tributaries of the Tennessee River. 
Surface diversified and well timbered. Good deposits of iron 
ore and phosphate are found in the county. Staple products 
are corn, wheat, cotton, oats, grass, and live stock. Lawrence¬ 
burg, the county seat, has a population of 2,461 and is a 
flourishing town, with good schools and churches, two weekly 
newspapers, banks, manufacturing establishments, general 
stores, and electric light plant. Scholastic population of coun¬ 
ty, 8,375; high school, 1; elementary schools, 60. 


LEWIS COUNTY 


L EWIS COUNTY was created on December 23, 1843, from 
parts of Hickman, Maury, Lawrence, and Wayne Coun¬ 
ties and named in honor of Meriwether Lewis,* who 
with William Clark conducted the famous Lewis and Clark 
expedition to Oregon in 1803-1806. 

A Mr. Dobbins and Robert Grinder, who established a 
tavern, were among the first settlers, about 1807. 

The first county seat was Newburg, which was supplanted 
by Hohenwald after the latter place had become prominent on 
account of the work and enterprise of a colony of Swiss who 


♦On October II, 1809, he either committed suicide or was murdered at 
Grinder’s Tavern on the Natchez Trace, about eight miles from Hohenwald, while 
he was on his way to Washington from St. Louis in Louisiana Territory of which 
he had been appointed governor. In 1848, the State of Tennessee erected a 
monument to his memory on the spot where he was buried. This monument, 
about twenty-five feet high, in an obscure place, is now neglected, in a bad 
condition, and forgotten by almost everybody. 





Counties of Tennessee 


67 


located there. Hohenwald was named by these colonists and 
means high forest. 

Lewis County is not blessed agriculturally as most of the 
counties of Tennessee, but it has valuable deposits of phos¬ 
phate and iron which are adding materially to its wealth. 

Statistics of Lewis County: population, 1920, 5,707. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $3,147,871. Area, 
280 square miles. Number of farms, 537. Railway mileage, 
34. Drained by several small streams, tributaries to Duck 
River. Intersected by a branch of the N. C. & St. L. Railway. 
Staple products are peanuts, corn, wheat, oats, grass, and live 
stock. Iron ore, oxide of iron, and ochre are found in the 
county. Hohenwald, the county seat, has a population of 
742, a weekly newspaper, two banks, fine schools and churches, 
and flourishing business houses. Scholastic population of 
county, 2,089; high schools, 1; elementary schools, 36. 


LINCOLN COUNTY 


L INCOLN COUNTY was erected on November 14, 1809, 
from a part of Bedford County and was named for Gen. 
Benjamin Lincoln, who performed great services in the 
Revolutionary War. 

By the act which created this county, John Whitaker, Sr., 
Wright Williams, Eli Garrett, Littleton Duty, and Jeffe Wood¬ 
ruff were appointed commissioners to secure one hundred acres 
of land near the center of the county for a county seat to be 
named Fayetteville. They bought the land for $700 from 
Ezekiel Norris, who in 1806 had settled on Norris Creek on his 
grant of 1,280 acres. 

The act also provided that the sessions of the Court of 
Pleas and Quarter Sessions should be held at the house of 
Brice M. Garner until a place should be provided in Fayette¬ 
ville. The first session was held on February 26, 1810. The 
magistrates were qualified by Oliver Williams, and Thomas H. 
Benton acted as clerk pro tern. Both of these men were from 
WilliamSon County. At this session Brice M. Garner was 
elected county court clerk. Thomas Stewart was elected judge 
of the circuit court and James Bright, clerk. 

Notable men of the early days were: Archibald Yell and 
Joseph Greer, the latter of whom, a giant in stature, carried 
to Congress at Philadelphia the news of the battle of King’s 
Mountain. 

Statistics of Lincoln County: population, 1920, 25,786. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $18,596,485. Area, 





68 


Counties of Tennessee 


540 square miles. Number of farms, 4,367. Railway mileage, 
62. Drained by Elk River. Soil is very fertile in a large por¬ 
tion of the county. Leading crops are corn, wheat, and grass. 
The live-stock industry is flourishing in this county. Fayette¬ 
ville, the county seat, has a population of 3,629 and is one of 
the best towns in this section of the state. It has electric light 
and water systems, two weekly newspapers, four banks, fine 
schools and churches, and several manufacturing establish¬ 
ments. Petersburg, Flintville, Elora, and Mulberry are other 
towns in the county. Scholastic population of the county, 
8,021; high schools, 22; elementary schools, 55. 


MACON COUNTY 


M ACON COUNTY was erected on January 18, 1842, 
from parts of Smith and Sumner Counties and was 
named for Nathaniel Macon, of whom Thomas H. Ben¬ 
ton said: “He spoke more good sense while getting in his chair 
and getting out of it than many delivered in long and elaborate 
speeches.” 

The first county court appointed Britton Holland, William 
Dunn, Samuel Sullivan, Eason Howell, and Jefferson Short as 
commissioners to hold an election to select a county seat. 
The place selected was on land of John B. Johnson on the 
dividing ridge between the Cumberland and Big Barren Rivers 
and was named LaFayette in honor of the Marquis de La- 
Fayette. 

The first county court met at the house of William Dunn, 
and Patrick Ferguson was chairman of it. The first county 
officers were: King Kerley, sheriff; William Weaver, register; 
Daniel O. Pursley, trustee; William Blackmore, county sur¬ 
veyor; David Claiborne, coroner. 

The first constables were: Thomas A. Meador, George 
White, Edward Barbee, Ensley Wilmore, B. Y. Turnor, Ben¬ 
nett Wright, and James G. Stone. 

The first justices of the peace were: Anderson Bratton, 
William Robertson, Charles Simmons, Haylum Pursley, Tay¬ 
lor O. Gillum, Jefferson B. Short, Ichabod Young, Jacob J. 
Johnson, Lewis Meador, William Roark, James J. York, James 
Patterson, and James Henderson. 

The first courthouse was built in 1844. The first circuit 
court was held in May, 1842 at the house of William Dunn and 
was presided over by Judge Abraham Caruthers. 

Statistics of Macon County: population, 1920, 14,922. As- 




Counties of Tennessee 


69 


sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $4,308,877. Area, 
450 square miles. Number of farms, 2,743. Railway mileage, 
none. Drained by tributaries of Cumberland and Big Barren 
Rivers. Its surface is generally uneven and well timbered. 
Staple products are corn, wheat, tobacco, grass, and live stock. 
Good gardening and truck-growing section. LaFayette, the 
county seat, has a population of 547, good schools and churches, 
flourishing business establishments, a weekly newspaper, and 
one bank. Red Boiling Springs, a noted health resort, is in 
this county. Scholastic population, 5,128; high schools, 2; 
elementary schools, 59. 


MARSHALL COUNTY 

M ARSHALL COUNTY was erected February 26, 1836, 
from parts of Lincoln v Bedford, and Maury Counties, to 
which was added a part of Giles in 1870. It was named 
in honor of John Marshall, chief justice. 

The first county court was organized on October 3, 1836, 
at the house of Abner Houston with the following justices of 
the peace in attendance: William McClure, Thomas Ross, 
William Wilkes, Peter Williams, Thomas Wilson, David Mc- 
Gahey, James Adams, George Cunningham, James V. Ewing, 
John Fields, Adam Miller, Joseph Cleek, Ephriam Hunter, 
Asa Holland, James Patterson, Jason Sheffield, Sherwood Dun- 
nigan, and Andrew Laird. The following officers were elected : 
John R. Hill, sheriff; Martin W. Oakley, county court clerk; 
John W. Record, trustee; John Elliott, register; Joseph Mc- 
Corf, coroner; Isaac H. Williams, ranger; Hugh McClelland, 

surveyor. 

By the act which created the county, Richard Warner, Wil¬ 
liam Smith, Holman R. Fowler, George W. McBride, and 
William D. Orr were appointed commissioners to select the 
county seat to be named Lewisburg, in honor of Meriwether 
Lewis. Abner Houston gave fifty acres for the county site. 
Lewisburg was incorporated on December 16, 1837. 

Early settlers were: Asa Fonville, in 1807; James Patter¬ 
son, in 1808; William McClure, in 1809; the Becks, Wallaces, 
and Allens. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was born near 
Chapel Hill, was a descendent of the Becks. Capt. Andrew 
Patterson, who commanded a company at the battle of New 
Orleans, made a settlement near Chapel Hill about 1800. 

The first circuit court was held at Abner Houston’s house 
in November, 1836, Judge Edmund Dillahunty presiding. 




70 


Counties of Tennessee 


The first chancery court was established in 1836, Lunsford 
M. Bramlett, chancellor. 

The first postmaster was John Hatchett. The first paper 
published was the Marshall Democrat in 1847. The second 
was the Lewisburg Gazette in 1848. 

The first church was Bethbersi, organized June 1, 1810, by 
Rev. Samuel Findley, Presbyterian. The first minister was 
Rev. John Gillespie. 

Statistics of Marshall County: population, 1920, 17,375. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $13,927,210. 
Area, 377 square miles. Number of farms, 2,560. Railway 
mileage, 60. Drained by Duck River. Northern part of the 
county is generally level; southern portion is hilly with val¬ 
leys that are fertile. Staple products are corn, oats, wheat, 
fruit, and live stock. A branch of the Nashville, Chattanooga 
& St. Louis Railway passes through the county, and it is also 
intersected by the Lewisburg & Northern, a branch of the 
Louisville & Nashville. Lewisburg, the county seat, has a 
population of 2,711, fine schools and churches, two weekly 
newspapers, two banks, and flourishing manufacturing and 
commercial establishments. Chapel Hill, Farmington, and 
Cornersville are other towns. Scholastic population, 5,671; 
high schools, 9; elementary schools, 45. 


MAURY COUNTY 


AURY COUNTY was erected November 24, 1807, from 



a part of Williamson County and was named in honor 


of Major Abram P. Maury. It is one of the best coun¬ 
ties in the state. From an agricultural point of view no county 
in the state is superior to it. 

The first county court was held at the house of Col. Joseph 
Brown, about three miles south of Columbia. He was licensed 
to keep an “ordinary” and gave bond to furnish “good, whole¬ 
some, and clean lodging and diet for travelers, stabling with 
hay, oats, corn, fodder, and pasturage, as the season of the 
year may require, and not to suffer or permit gambling, nor 
on the Sabbath day permit any person to tipple or drink more 
than necessary.” 

The magistrates of this first court were: John Dickey, John 
Miller, William Gilchrist, William Frierson, Isaac Roberts, 
John Spencer, John Lindsey, Joshua Williams, James Love, 
Lemuel Pruett, and William Dooley. Peter R. Booker was 
appointed solicitor. Joseph Herndon was the first resident at¬ 
torney admitted to practice. 




71 


Counties of Tennessee 


The commissioners appointed by the Legislature in 1808 to 
select the county seat were: Joshua Williams, William Frier¬ 
son, Isaac Roberts, John Lindsey, and Joseph Brown. They 
selected Columbia, which was incorporated in 1817. The first 
physicians were: Drs. O’Reilly and Kstes. Later physicians 
were: Drs. DePriest, McNeil, Sansom, Mcjimsey, and Graves. 

The first paper, The Western Chronicle, was founded in 
1811 by James Walker, who married a sister of President 
Polk in 1813. 

The early settlers in Maury County came from North Caro¬ 
lina and Virginia. Attention to this county was brought early 
and particularly because of the location there of the 25,000 
acres given Gen. Nathaniel Greene because of his services in 
the Revolutionary War. 

One of the earliest colonies, however, came from South 
Carolina in 1807 and in 1808, led by John Dickey and settled 
in the Zion Church neighborhood. Besides Dickey, prominent 
settlers were: Moses Frierson, James Blakeley, William Frier¬ 
son, Eli Frierson, James Armstrong, Thomas Stephenson, 
Nathaniel Stephenson, “Old Davy’’ Matthews, Samuel Wither¬ 
spoon, John Stephenson, James Frierson, P. Fulton, Alexander 
Dobbins, Moses Freeman, the Flemings and Mayes. They 
built a church, which served also as a schoolhouse in which 
the minister, Rev. Henderson, was a teacher. At one time 

James K. Polk was one of his pupils. 

Not far from Mt. Zion was the Polk settlement. From the 
first settlers, in 1807, William Dever and his sister, William 
Polk bought their 5,000-acre grant. He divided the estate 
amon. (r his four sons: Bishop Leonidas Polk, Lucius P. Polk, 
George N. Polk, and Rufus K. Polk. This became known as 
the “Polk Neighborhood.” Near it was the home of Gen. 
Gideon J. Pillow. 

Another prominent settlement was the Spring Hill com¬ 
munity which was started about 1808-1810 by Abraham Ham¬ 
mond, Colonel Russell, Nathaniel Ldieairs, James Black and 
others. James Black was the grandfather of Col. Henry W"at- 
terson and father-in-law of Judge Stanley Matthews of the 

United States Supreme Court. 

Few counties have been so prolific in prominent, noted, and 
great men. Among them were: President James K. Polk, 
Gen. Felix K. Zollicoffer, Gen. Ewell Stanley Matthews, Mat¬ 
thew Fontaine Maury, Henry F. Cooper, A. P. Nicholson, Wil¬ 
liam Fields,* Bishop Leonidas Polk, Bishop Otey, Gideon J. 
Pillow, Terry H. Cahal, William Polk, Thomas Wrenne, Maj. 


*The compiler of the famous Scrapbook. 





72 


Counties of Tennessee 


James Holland, Dr. Samuel Mayes, James Armstrong, a mem¬ 
ber of Dee’s Legion, David Matthews, who served under Gen. 
Francis Marion, Gen. Richard Winn, Edward Ward Carmack, 
and many others. 

Statistics of Maury County: population, 1920, 35,403. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $29,694,070. Area, 
596 square miles. Number of farms, 3,728. Railway mileage, 
102. Drained by Duck River. Land is very fertile and is one 
of the richest agricultural counties in the state. Staple pro¬ 
ducts are corn, wheat, oats, hay, fruits, and live stock. The 
dairying industry is extensive, the county having some of the 
finest herds in the state. There are immense phosphate de¬ 
posits in the county which have been worked for years. Colum¬ 
bia, the county seat, has a population of 5,526, is on the Duck 
River, and has two railroads. It is the seat of Columbia In¬ 
stitute for Girls and Columbia Military Academy and has a 
fine system of public schools, splendid churches, daily and 
weekly newspapers, four banks, several manufacturing estab¬ 
lishments, mills, etc. It is one of the largest mule markets in 
the country. Mount Pleasant, the center of the phosphate 
mining industry, has a population of 2,093 and has good 
schools and churches, two banks, a weekly newspaper, cot¬ 
ton mill, two creameries and prosperous manufacturing and 
mercantile establishments. Other prosperous towns are Cul- 
leoka and Spring Hill. The latter place has excellent private 
schools. Scholastic population of county, 11,352; high schools, 
13, elementary schools, 100. 


MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

M ONTGOMERY COUNTY was named for John Mont¬ 
gomery, erected in 1796, when Tennessee county gave 
up its name to the state and its territory was divided 
into Montgomery and Robertson County. Its first permanent 
settlement was made by Moses Renfroe and his company 
when they left Col. John Donelson’s colony on April 12, 1780, 
as they were on their way up the Cumberland to the great 
French Lick (Nashville). Renfroe ascended the Red River 
to the mouth of Carson’s Creek where he built Renfroe’s Sta¬ 
tion (sometimes called Red River Station). Among these set¬ 
tlers were: Moses, Isaac, Joseph, and James Renfroe, Nathan 
and Solomon Turpin, Isaac Mayfield, James Hollis, James 
Johns, and a widow named Jones. 




Counties of Tennessee 


73 


On account of the fear of an Indian attack they left the 
station for the Bluff (Nashville), and at Battle Creek were 
attacked and twenty persons killed. The earliest stations in 
this county were Prince’s, Clarksville, and Nevill’s. Francis 
Prince and James Ford were the leaders at Prince’s. Col. 
James Ford was probably the most striking figure in the coun¬ 
ty at that period. John Montgomery and Martin Armstrong 
laid off the land and made the plan of a town on the north 
bank of the Cumberland just above the mouth of Red River 
and entered the land in 1784. They named the town Clarks¬ 
ville, in honor of George Rogers Clark. In 1785 the Legisla¬ 
ture of North Carolina established the town of Clarksville and 
named in the act the following commissioners: John Mont¬ 
gomery, Anthony Crutcher, William Polk, Anthony Bledsoe, 
and Lardner Clark. This was the second town established in 
Middle Tennessee. 

In 1788 a tobacco inspection was established at Clarks¬ 
ville, the first in the state. In the same year Tennessee Coun¬ 
ty was erected out of which Montgomery County was estab¬ 
lished, and a Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was held at 
the house of Isaac Titsworth, on Person’s Creek for the first 
and second sessions. For the third session it met at the 
house of William Grimbs; and all subsequent sessions were 
held at Clarksville, where, on the public square, a rude, log 
courthouse was built. 

The earliest inhabitants of Clarksville were: John Mont¬ 
gomery, Anthony and William Crutcher, Amos Bird, George 
Bell, Robert Nelson, and Aeneas McAllister. In 1794-1795 
there were: John Kaston, Daniel James, James Adams, Wil¬ 
liam Montgomery, Philip Gilbert, Robert Dunnung, Hugh Mc- 
Callum, Benjamin Hawkins, and Andrew Snoddy. 

Soon after Clarksville was established George and Joseph 
B. Medill, from South Carolina, built a fort on Red River be¬ 
tween Prince’s and Clarksville. 

The first and most important settlement on the south side 
of the Cumberland was Palmyra at the mouth of Deason’s 
Creek. It was the first port of entry in the West, a fact which 
indicates its importance at that time. It was laid out by Dr. 
Morgan Brown, father of the eminent jurist, Judge William L. 
Brown, and was chartered in 1796. From 1780 to 1795, the 
people suffered much from the Indians who were instigated by 
the Spanish. Prominent among their deeds of horrors were 
the Titsworth Massacre in 1794; the murder of John Dier and 
Benjamin Lindsey, in 1793; the heroic death of John Mont¬ 
gomery, in 1794; the murder of Maj. Hvan Shelby, brother of 



74 


Counties of Tennessee 


Isaac Shelby, in 1793; the ambushing and killing of three sons 
of Col. Valentine Sevier, brother of John Sevier, and of their 
two companions in 1792; and the sanguinary attack on Colonel 
Sevier’s Station, in 1794. 

Most of the early inhabitants of Montgomery County came 
from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsyl¬ 
vania. Among those from North Carolina were: Haydon 
Wells, James, Charles, and Duncan Stewart, Anthony and 
William Crutcher, and Robert Nelson. Among those from 
South Carolina were: James Ford, Francis, William, and 
Robert Prince, George Bell, George Nevill, Joseph B. Nevill, 
and Dr. Morgan Brown. From Virginia, via Watauga, were: 
Evan and Moses Shelby, Valentine Sevier, John Montgomery, 
and John H. Poston. From Pennsylvania were: James Elder 
and Aeneas McAllister. 

Schools began in the county immediately after the Indian 
atrocities ended. Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Hise opened a school 
for young ladies at Clarksville in the thirties. In 1837 the 
Female Academy was opened. There was also a Male Aca¬ 
demy. The greatest institution of all, however, was the 
Southwestern Presbyterian University. 

Clarksville, also, has been the home of many literary lights, 
among them being Father Ryan, William A. Pefifer (later a 
United States Senator from Kansas), Martha McCulloch Wil¬ 
liams, Elizabeth N. Gilmer (“Dorothy Dix”), Judge C. W. 
Tyler, and Prof. G. F. Nicholassen. 

Statistics of Montgomery County: population, 1920, 32,265. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $19,207,350. 
Area, 540 square miles. Number of farms, 4,121. Railway 
mileage, 83. County borders on Kentucky and is intersected 
by the Cumberland River. Its surface is undulating and partly 
timbered. Its soil is fertile and it is one of the best tobacco- 
producing counties in the state. Fine limestone and iron ore 
deposits are found in the county. Staple products are tobacco, 
corn, wheat, oats, and live stock. The county is traversed by 
the L. & N. and the Tennessee Central Railroads. Clarksville, 
the county seat, has a population of 8,110. It is on two rail¬ 
roads and the Cumberland River. It is an up-to-date city with 
all conveniences, a large tobacco market, has fine schools and 
churches, daily and weekly newspapers, several manufactur¬ 
ing establishments, and is a jobbing center for a large territory. 
New Providence, St. Bethlehem, Palmyra, and Corbandale are 
other towns in the county. Scholastic population in the coun¬ 
ty, 10,332; high schools, 6; elementary schools, 96. 



Counties of Tennessee 


75 


MOORE COUNTY 


M OORE COUNTY was erected on December 14, 1871, 
out of portions of Lincoln, Franklin, Coffee, and Bed¬ 
ford Counties, to be called Moore County, in honor of 
the late Gen. William Moore, who was one of the early settlers 
of Lincoln County, a soldier of the War of 1812 and a mem¬ 
ber for several terms of the General Assembly. 

This county was established in violation of a provision of 
the constitution which requires that each county shall have not 
less than 275 square miles. The reason was that one of its 
lines was laid out less than 11 miles from the courthouse of 
Lincoln County, which promptly demanded enough of the 
territory of the new county to place the boundary line at the 
proper distance thus reducing the area of Moore County to 
160 square miles. 

The first settlements were made about 1800 by pioneers 
from North Carolina and Georgia, attracted by the game, once 
lived here on the head waters of East Mulberry Creek. 
Thomas Roundtree, one of the first settlers, owned the land on 
which Lynchburg is situated. He laid off the town about 
1820, and it was incorporated in 1841. 

Moses Crawford, one of the first settlers, is authority for 
the statement that there was in the early days a den of 
thieves near Lynchburg and that “stealing was as common as 
going to church.” It became necessary, therefore, to have a 
vigilance committee to maintain law and order. Offences were 
punished at the whipping post. A small, weakly man named 
Lynch, who was living there, was so frequently chosen to 
wield the lash that in time the place was called Lynchburg, so 
tradition says. 

The first county court met at the house of Tolley and 
Eaton, in Lynchburg, in June, 1873, and in the same year 
Lynchburg was selected as the county seat. 

In the early days camp meetings were held at the camp 
grounds. Enoch's camp ground, four miles northeast of 
Lynchburg, was a famous meeting place of the Methodists in 

those times. 

Statistics of Moore County: population, 1920, 4,491. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $1,900,629. Area, 
170 square miles. Number of farms, 846. Railway mileage, 
none. It is drained by Elk River, and its surface is hilly and 
partly covered with timber. The soil is fertile, and principal 
products are corn, wheat, oats, and live stock. Lynchburg, 



76 


Counties of Tennessee 


the county seat, has a population of 365, good schools and 
churches, a weekly newspaper, two banks, and flourishing 
business establishments. It is noted as a mule market. 
Scholastic population of county, 1,600; high schools, 1; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 20. 


OVERTON COUNTY 

O VERTON COUNTY was erected in 1806 from a part of 
Jackson County and was named in honor of Judge John 
Overton, the most intimate friend of Andrew Jackson. 
The earliest settlers were Col. Stephen Copeland and his son, 
“Big Joe” Copeland. Other early settlers were: John Good- 
pasture, father of the distinguished jurist, Judge Jefferson D. 
Goodpasture; Capt. Jesse Arnold; Capt. Simeon Hinds, father 
of the learned chemist and teacher, Dr. J. I. D. Hinds, of Leb¬ 
anon; Benjamin Totten, father of Judge A. W. O. Totten; 
Moses Fisk; Judge Alvin Cullom; Adam Huntsman; and some 
descendants of John Sevier. 

The first court was held at a place called later Jones’ Store, 
about five miles north of Livingston, and became a rival for 
the honor of being the county seat and a lively animosity 
arose between the two towns. Finally, in an election in 1833, 
Livingston was victorious by a small majority. 

The oldest town in the county is Hilham, founded in 1805 
by Moses Fisk. It was there that the Fisk Female Academy 
was located, the first school distinctly for girls chartered in 
the South and one of the first in the entire United States. 

Statistics of Overton County: population, 1920, 17,617. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $4,471,888. Area, 
376 square miles. Number of farms, 2,714. Railway mileage, 
30. Drained by Obed and Roaring Rivers, tributaries of the 
Cumberland River. Its surface is hilly and its soil very fertile. 
Fine grazing lands for cattle and sheep. Staple products are 
corn, wheat, hay, and live stock. The county is well timbered 
and there are good deposits of coal. Livingston, the county 
seat, is the terminus of the Tennessee, Kentucky & Northern, 
a short line extending from the Tennessee Central, and has a 
population of 1,215. It has good schools and churches, two 
weekly newspapers, two banks, and several manufacturing es¬ 
tablishments, and is a flourishing town. Scholastic popula¬ 
tion of county, 6,597; high schools, 6; elementary schools, 84. 




Counties of Tennessee 


77 


PERRY COUNTY 

P ERRY COUNTY was erected on November 1$, 182^, ; from 
a part of Hickman County and was named 4n-4tf'onor of 
Commodore Oliver H. Perry. It embraced at first the 
territory now in Perry and Decatur Counties. 

The firs^caunty court was organized on the first Monday 
in January/1820, at the house of James Dickson, on Lick Creek, 
when Joseph Brown was chosen chairman and the following 
magistrates were qualified: James Dickson, Joseph Brown, 
William Holmes, William Britt, John L. Houston, Enoch 
Hooper, Oswald Griffin, a Mr. Nunn, and Green B. Newsom. 
The following officers were elected: William Harmon, clerk; 
Aaron Lewis, trustee; John A. Rains, register; Jacob Harmon, 
ranger; Mark Murphy, coroner; West Wood, sheriff. 

The county seat was established in 1771, at Perryville, on 
the west side of the Tennessee River. This remained the 
county seat until 1846, when the Tennessee River was made 
the boundary line and the western part was erected into De¬ 
catur County. 

In the early days Perryville was a political and business 
center of importance. David Crockett, Andrew Jackson, Sam 
Houston, James K. Polk, and other visited it. 

For two years after the division the courts of Perry Coun¬ 
ty were held at Harrisburg, now Bethel, three miles south of 
Linden, which was selected as a county seat in 1848 by a ma¬ 
jority of six votes. In the same year the first courthouse was 

built of logs. 

The first school in the county was on Tom’s Creek, taught 
by Ferny Stanley in 1820. The first steamboat, the General 
Greene, arrived in 1819. The first merchant was John Yates, 
who had a store on Tom’s Creek in 1819. John Tracy built 
the first water mill on Cedar Creek in 1820. 

The first circuit court was held at James Dickson’s on 
Lick Creek in 1820. Judge Humphreys presided. 

The first church was built in 1821 on Lick Creek by the 
Primitive Baptists and the first ministers who held services 
were Rev. William Hodge and Rev. Samuel Akins. 

Statistics of Perry County: population, 1920, 7,765. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $3,379,600. Area, 
420, square miles. Number of farms, 1,235. Railway mileage, 
none. Drained by Tennessee River and its tributaries. Sur¬ 
face diversified by high ridges and rich valleys, and portions 
of it are well timbered. It is one of the principal peanut-pro¬ 
ducing counties of the state. Other staple products are corn, 






78 


Counties of Tennessee 


wheat, buck-wheat, and live stock. Linden, the county seat, 
has a population of about 500 and is a town of good schools 
and churches and flourishing business establishments. It is 
13 miles from the Tennessee River and 80 miles from Nash¬ 
ville. Scholastic population of county, 2,546; high schools, 3; 
elementary schools, 48. 


PICKETT COUNTY 

P ICKETT COUNTY was erected in 1879 from parts of 
Overton and Fentress Counties and was named for H. L. 
Pickett, a resident of Wilson County. Its early history is 
the history of the counties from which it was taken. 

Statistics of Pickett County: population, 1920, 5,205. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $1,188,975. Area, 
240 square miles. Number of farms, 935. Railway mileage, 
none. Its surface is hilly, and it is well watered by Obed and 
Wolf Rivers. Some sections are covered with fine timber. 
Staple products are corn, wheat, oats, grass, and live stock. 
Byrdstown, the county seat, has a population of 125 and has 
good schools and churches, a bank, and flourishing business 
houses. Scholastic population of county, 1,914; high schools, 
none, elementary schools, 30. 


PUTNAM COUNTY 

P UTNAM COUNTY was erected on February 1,1842, from 
parts of White, Overton, Jackson, Smith, and DeKalb 
Counties and was named in honor of Gen. Israel Putnam 
of the Revolutionary War. 

In accordance with the provisions of the act creating this 
county, the county and circuit courts were established and 
their officers were elected and functioned until 1844 when an 
injunction restraining the officers from performing their duties 
of their offices was applied for and was granted. February 11, 
1854, however, Putnam County was re-established largely 
through the efforts of Major Cooke, after whom Cookeville, 
the county seat was named. He was one of the most prominent 
citizens of the county and, at the time, was an influential mem¬ 
ber of the State Senate. The way for the re-establishment of 
the county was facilitated by the decision of the State Supreme 
Court that after the organization of the county was complete 
and the original commissioners had performed their duty, it 





Counties oj Tennessee 


79 


was not within the jurisdiction of the courts of justice to en¬ 
join the civil officers from proceeding in their official duties. 

The commissioners named in the reorganization act located 
the county seat and laid off the town which was named Cooke¬ 
ville. Monticello was a competitor for this honor. This com¬ 
mission was composed of Joshua R. Stone and Dr. Green H. 
Baker, of White County; Austin Morgan and Maj. John 
Brown, of Jackson County; William Davis and Isaiah War- 
thon, of Overton County; William B. Stokes and Bird S. Rhea, 
of DeKalb County; Benjamin A. Vaden and Nathan Ward, of 
Smith County. 

Putnam County furnished many gallant officers in the War 
between the States. Among them were: Sidney S. Stanton, 
John B. Vance, Harvey H. Dillard, Holland Denton, Walton 
Smith, S. H. McDearmon, John H. Quarles, W. B. Carten, S. J. 
Johnson, Rison Robinson, C. J. Davis, S. G. Slaughter, Wil¬ 
liam Ensor, Abraham Hord. Gen Alvin C. Gillem, one of the 
three general officers furnished the Union Army from Ten¬ 
nessee, was a Putnam Countian. 

Monterey (called in the early days Standing Stone) and 
Bloomington Springs are noted summer resorts. There are 
important deposits of coal, phosphate, lithograph stone, sand¬ 
stone, and petroleum. 

Statistics of Putnam County: population, 1920, 22,231. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $9,784,713. Area, 
430 square miles. Number of farms, 2,983. Railway mileage, 
49. Drained by tributaries of the Caney Fork and the Cumber¬ 
land Rivers. Its surface is undulating and partly covered with 
fine timber. County is well adapted to stock-raising and fruit¬ 
growing. Staple products are corn, grass, and live stock. Fine 
coal deposits are found in the mountain section of the county. 
The Tennessee Central Railway traverses the county. Cooke¬ 
ville, the county seat, has a population of 2,395 and has fine 
churches and schools. It is the seat of the Tennessee Polytech¬ 
nic Institute. It has a fine electric light plant, water system, 
weekly newspaper, two banks, several manufacturing estab¬ 
lishments, prosperous stores, and is the jobbing center for a 
considerable territory. Monterey, on top of a mountain, has 
a population of 1,445 and is the center of the spoke and handle 
and stave industry for that section. It has good schools and 
churches and prosperous business establishments. Algood and 
Baxter are other towns in the county. Scholastic population 
of county, 7,739; high schools, 5; elementary schools, 70. 



80 


Counties of Tennessee 


ROBERTSON COUNTY 

T HE creation of Robertson County was synchronous with 
that of Montgomery County, both having been erected 
from Tennessee County on April 9, 1796. It was named 
in honor of James Robertson. 

The first settler in this county was Thomas Kilgore. In 
1776 or 1777 he lived for some time in a cave on the South 
Fork of Red River, near what is now the village of Cross 
Plains. After spending about a year there, he returned to his 
family in North Carolina and took part in the battle of King’s 
Mountain. On his return he was accompanied by Moses 
Maulden, Ambrose Maulson, Samuel Mason, Josiah Hankins, 
and several others with their families. They arrived toward 
the latter part of 1780 and built a fort, called Kilgore’s Fort or 
Kilgore’s Station on Kilgore’s land. After a few months, how¬ 
ever, they abandoned the station because of the depredations 
of the Indians. Kilgore returned later and lived there until 
his death at the age of one hundred and eight. 

From Tennessee County, of which Robertson was a part, 
the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1796 were: 
Thomas Johnson, James Ford, William Fort, William Prince, 
and Robert Prince. The original constitution is in the hand¬ 
writing of William Fort, who was considered the best penman 
among the delegates. 

On July 18, 1776, the first county court organized at the 
house of Jacob McCarty, with the following-named magis¬ 
trates present: William Fort, chairman, Benjamin Menees, 
William Miles, Isaac Phillips, Bazil Boren, Martin Duncan, 
John Phillips, James Crabtree, and Zebulon Hart. Samuel 
Donelson was made county solicitor. The next term of the 
court was held at the house of Benjamin McIntosh, and this 
continued to be the place of the meeting until July, 1798, when 
it met at the store of George Bell, where Springfield now is. 
When the courthouse was built in 1799 the sessions were held 
there. 

In April, 1796, thirty acres were donated to the county by 
Archer Cheatham for a county site. In 1798 twenty acres more 
were bought from Thomas Johnson, and Springfield became 
the county seat. 

Early physicians were Drs. Levi Noyes, Clark B. Bell, and 
Archie Thomas. 

The circuit court was organized on April 10, 1810. It was 
presided over by Judge Parry W. Humphreys. The first law¬ 
yer was Thornton A. Cook. Other early lawyers were: W. 
H. Dortch and W. W. Pepper. 






Counties of Tennessee 


81 


According to tradition, William Black taught the first 
school, which was on Sulphur Fork. About 1805, Thomas 
Bowles and John Edwards taught at Springfield, and in the 
next year, according to N. W. True, Liberty Academy was 
established at Springfield. This became a noted school, and 
many prominent men were educated there. It existed about 
seventy-five years and was then sold to some Negroes who 
used it for a church. 

Early churches were the Red River Missionary Baptist 
Church, the first, 1791; the Cane Ridge Presbyterian Church, 
1793, where some of the services of the great revival of 1800 
were held, and Mount Zion. A large camp ground was main¬ 
tained also. 

This county was the home of the so-called Bell Witch about 
whom hair-raising stories were told, and also of the octoroon 
Elijah Cheek. It was also the scene of some of the startling 
exploits of the Night Riders a few years ago. 

Statistics of Robertson County: population, 1920, 25,621. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $17,859,694. 
Area, 536 square miles. Number of farms, 4,002. Railway 
mileage, 26. Surface is hilly and well covered with timber. 
The soil is fertile. Tobacco is one of the principal products, 
this county being one of the largest producers in the state. 
Other staple products are wheat, corn, oats, and live stock. 
Springfield, the county seat, has a population of 3,860 and is a 
flourishing town. It is one of the chief tobacco markets of the 
state. Springfield is on the L. & N. Railroad and is 30 miles 
from Nashville. It has fine schools and churches, two weekly 
newspapers, four banks, and manufacturing establishments. 
Adams, Green Brier, and Cedar Hill are other towns. Schol¬ 
astic population of county, 9,393; high schools, 9; elementary 
schools, 74. _ 


RUTHERFORD COUNTY 

R UTHERFORD COUNTY was erected on October 25, 
1803, from Davidson County and was named in honor 
of Gen. Griffith Rutherford, of North Carolina. It was 
organized on January 3, 1803. 

Uriah Stone, who discovered Stone’s River, in 1766, ex¬ 
plored it as far as Old Jefferson in Rutherford County. The 
famous Indian chief, Black Fox, had a camp near Murfrees¬ 
boro and the old Indian war trace from Nashville to Chat¬ 
tanooga passed through this county. 

Early settlers were: Sam Wilson, who located at Wilson’s 




82 


Counties of Tennessee 


Shoals on Stone’s River; William Adkinson, Thomas Nelson, 
and Thomas Howell, near Stewart Creek; Robert Overall, on 
Overall Creek; Nimrod Menifee, near the Federal Cemetery; 
Col. Robert Weakley, Robert Bedford, Col. Richard Ransom, 
Rev. James Bowman, Charles Ready, Thomas Rucker, Rich¬ 
ard Saunders, and Capt. William Lytle, the last named being 
the owner of the land on the site of Murfreesboro. 

On August 3, 1804, the commissioners, John Hill, Fred¬ 
erick Barfield, Mark Mitchell, Alexander McBride, and Peter 
Legrand, selected a county seat. Through the influence of 
Col. Robert Weakley and Robert Bedford they selected Jef¬ 
ferson, known now as Old Jefferson, on land between the 
forks of Stone’s River. The first court was held at the house 
of Thomas Rucks on January 3, 1804, and the first courthouse 
was erected in 1804-1805. Parry W. Humphreys was made 
county solicitor. Thomas H. Benton tried his first case at 
Jefferson. 

On October 17, 1811, the Legislature directed that a county 
seat be determined and named and appointed seven prominent 
land owners to select a site of sixty acres, centrally located. 
A struggle ensued between rival factions. The site was first 
called Cannonsburg in honor of Newton Cannon, governor 
1835-1839, but by an amendment to the act of 1811 it was 
called Murfreesborough in honor of Col. Hardy Murfree, who 
led the advance at the battle of Stony Point and was incor¬ 
porated on October 17, 1817. The first mayor was Joshua 
Haskell, who resigned and was succeeded by Joseph Wendell. 
Lawyers of early days were: S. R. Rucker, J. R. Martin, 
Charles Ready, S. A. Laughlin, W. Brady, Samuel Anderson, 
John Bruce, Joshua Haskell, and P. W. Humphreys. Early 
physicians were: Drs. James Mooney, J. King, Henry Holmes, 
and P. Yandell. 

The Tennessee Legislature held its session in Murfrees¬ 
boro from 1819-1826, its meetings being in the courthouse. 

Important educational institutions: Soule College, original¬ 
ly Soule’s Female Academy, founded in 1825; Old Union Uni¬ 
versity, chartered February 5, 1842; Tennessee College; An¬ 
derson’s School for Boys; and the Middle Tennessee Normal 
School. 

Murfreesboro has been the home of two great literary 
celebrities: Dr. Samuel P. Baldwin, author of “Armageddon,” 
and Miss Mary N. Murfree (George Egbert Craddock), whose 
lamented death occurred recently. 

Statistics of Rutherford County: population, 1920, 33,059. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $25,441,330. 



Counties of Tennessee 


83 


Area, 580 square miles. Number of farms, 5,254. Railway 
Mileage, 34. Drained by Stone’s River, a tributary of the 
Cumberland River. Its surface is undulating, and the soil is 
fertile. Portions of the county are well timbered. Staple 
products are corn, cotton, wheat, sorghum, peas, clover, and 
grass. It is one of the best live-stock counties in the state. 
Murfreesboro, the county seat, has a population of 5,367 and 
is on the N. C. & St. L. Railway, 30 miles from Nashville. It 
has fine public and private schools and is the seat of the Middle 
Tennessee Normal. It has splendid churches, two weekly 
newspapers, several manufacturing establishments, and pros¬ 
perous stores. Christiana, Fosterville, Smyrna, and LaVergne 
are other towns in the county. Scholastic population of coun¬ 
ty, 14,367; high schools, 15; elementary schools, 100. 


SMITH COUNTY 

S MITH COUNTY was erected in 1799 from a part of Sum¬ 
ner County and was named in honor of Gen. Daniel Smith, 
a pioneer, surveyor, Secretary of the Southwest Territory, 
and United States Senator, succeeding Andrew Jackson. 

The early settlers were mostly from North Carolina and 
Virginia"; some of them via Hast Tennessee. They raised cot¬ 
ton, corn, tobacco, and hemp. William V/alton was the first 
settler, having located, probably in 1787, on what was after¬ 
wards the site of Carthage. Other early settlers were: Daniel 
Burford, Richard Alexander, Peter Turney, William Saunders, 
Tilman Dixon, Micajah Duke, William McDonald, William 
Goodall, Armstead Flippin, James Hodges, George T. Wright, 
Arthur S. Hogan, the Gordons, Smiths, and Fites. 

On December 16, 1799, the first session of the Court of 
Pleas and Quarter Sessions was held at the house of Tilman 
Dixon on the site of Dixon Springs. The following-named 
magistrates were present and qualified: Garrett Fitzgerald, 
chairman, William Alexander, James Gwinn, Tilman Dixon, 
Thos. Harrison, James Hibbetts, William Walton, and Peter 
Turney. The last named was the father of Hopkins L. Turney 
and grandfather of Governor Peter Turney. The oath was 
administered by Moses Fisk, who was appointed clerk, pro tern. 
Amos Lacy was chosen constable. During its first year this 
court had its meetings sometimes at the house of Maj. Dixon 
and sometimes at William Saunders , then at Fort Blount, then 
at Colonel Walton’s. But in 1804, the county site was es¬ 
tablished at the place where Carthage now stands, which was 




84 


Counties of Tennessee 


laid out on the land of Col. William Walton, who built the 
road, called after him, the Walton Road, from the junction of 
the Caney Fork and the Cumberland across the mountain, 
along which road he erected houses for the entertainment of 
travelers. The courthouse was completed in 1805, and in 
March, 1806, the court was held in it. 

The circuit court held its first session, it is thought, in 1810, 
with Judge N. W. Williams presiding. The chancery court 
held its first term in May, 1825, and was presided over by 
Judge John Catron, Chief Justice of the state, 1831-1835, and 
then member of the United States Supreme Court. Among 
the prominent members of its bar were: Robert L. Caruthers, 
elected governor in 1863, and his brother, Abraham Caruthers, 
William B. Campbell, governor, 1851-1853, William Cullom, 
Samuel M. Fite, James B. Moore, Jordan Stokes, John D. 
Goodall, Andrew McClain, A. A. Swope, E. L. Gardenhire, and 
Sam Turney. 

Smith County furnished for the War of 1812 two com¬ 
panies whose captains were, respectively, Robertson and James 
Walton; four companies for the War with Mexico, commanded 
by Captains William Walton, L. P. McMurry, Don Allison, 
and John D. Goodall; and twelve companies to the Confed¬ 
erate Army. 

Pioneer ministers were: David P. Timberlake, David Halli¬ 
burton, John Page, Jesse Moreland, and John Maffit. 

Important educational institutions were the Geneva Aca¬ 
demy and the Female Academy. 

Statistics of Smith County: population of 1920, 17,134. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1923, $13,652,578. Area, 
368 square miles. Number of farms, 2,908. Railway mileage, 
27. Drained by the Cumberland and its tributary, the Caney 
Fork. Surface is hilly and well covered with timber. Staple 
products are corn, wheat, oats, tobacco, and hay. It is one of 
the best live stock counties in the state. Carthage, the county 
seat, is on the Cumberland River and the terminus of a branch 
of the Tenessee Central Railway. It has a population of 920, 
has good schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, one bank, 
manufacturing and mercantile establishments. Large ship¬ 
ments of tobacco are made from Carthage. Dixon Springs is 
another prosperous town in the county. Scholastic popula¬ 
tion of county, 6,832; high schools, 2; elementary schools, 72. 



Counties of Tennessee 


85 


STEWART COUNTY 

S TEWART COUNTY was erected on November 1, 1803, 
from a part of Montgomery County and was named in 
honor of Duncan Stewart, an energetic and prosperous 
farmer. At that time this county included a vast domain ex¬ 
tending west to the Tennessee River and south to the Ala¬ 
bama line. After the Chickasaw purchase was made, October 
19, 1918, the jurisdiction of this county for a while extended 
to the Mississippi River and covered more than 1,200 square 
miles, more than one-fourth of the entire state. 

The earliest settlers arrived about 1795, mostly from North 
Carolina. Among them were: George Petty, Samuel A. Smith, 
Britton Sexton, James Andrews, Samuel Boyd, and Elisha 
Dawson. They settled on or near the site of Dover. About 
1800 Duncan Stewart arrived with a large number of immi¬ 
grants from North Carolina. Among them were: John King- 
ins, Christopher Brandon, Joseph Smith, Tillman Sexton, and 
Ethelred Wallace. In 1809 and 1811, John Wofford and James 
Wofford came. From Virginia came: James Scarborough, 
Sr., James Scarborough, Jr., Davis Andrews, and Ebenezer 
Rumphelt. Other pioneer families were: the Lewis, Gorham, 
Weaks, Parchman, Walter, and Akers families. 

Most of the settlers from North Carolina had grants of 
land for services in the Revolutionary War. For several years 
they suffered much from the depredations of the Indians. 

On November 1st, 1803, the Legislature passed an act in 
which a commission was appointed to select the county seat. 
The county was organized on March 12, 1804, at the house of 
George Martin, near Bald Island, by the following-named 
magistrates: Thomas Clinton, Joshua Williams, William Al¬ 
len, and George Petty. ^ , 

In 1805 thirty acres were bought of Robert Nelson and a 
county seat laid out. Although the act creating the county 
specified that the name of the county seat should be Monroe, it 
was nevertheless called Dover. It was incorporated in 1836. 

Among the early lawyers who practiced at Dover were: 
Nathaniel McNairy, Jesse E. Rice, H. C. Roberts, James 
Roberts, Percy W. Thompson, Aaron Goodridge, E. P. Petty, 
J B Reynolds, J. W. Wall, C. M. Brandon, J. W. Rice, M. 
Brandon, Jesse L. Harris, J. O. Shackleford, Peter Lynch, 
Hiram Valentine, John Reddick, William Fitzgerald, West H. 

Humphreys, George W. Marr. ^ _ 

Early physicians were: Drs. Brunson, Huling, Cato, Uut- 

law, and Roberts. 

Probably the first school was taught by John Ferrell in 




86 


Counties of Tennessee 


1806. Alexander Coppage was a noted teacher of 1826. In 
1840, McDougal opened a “Male and Female Academy.” 

The Baptists established the first church probably in 1803. 

From 1854 to 1856 a servile insurrection, probably the only 
one in the history of Tennessee was fomented in this county, 
supposedly by white preachers. The plan was for the Negroes 
to overcome their masters on a certain day and then to leave 
for Ohio where they expected to be freed. In December, 
1856, the plot was discovered by the vigilance committee. Six 
of the leaders were hanged and many were whipped. 

Stewart County was for more than fifty years the center 
of the iron industry of Middle Tennessee. 

Statistics of Stewart County: population, 1920, 14,664. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $5,520,099. Area, 
500 square miles. Number of farms, 2,612. Railway mileage, 
5. Drained by the Cumberland River which intersects the 
county. The Tennessee River flows along the western border 
of the county. Its surface is hilly and partly covered with 
timber. The soil is fertile. A large amount of export tobacco 
is grown. Other staple products are corn, wheat, oats, and 
live stock. Several iron mines have been worked in the coun¬ 
ty. The L. & N. Railroad passes through the county. Dover, 
the county seat, has a population of about 500 and has good 
schools and churches, weekly newspaper, two banks, and 
flourishing business houses. Scholastic population of county, 
5,576; high schools, 1; elementary schools, 63. 


SUMNER COUNTY* 

S UMNER COUNTY was erected on November 17, 1786, by 
act of the Legislature of North Carolina. It was formed 
from a part of Davidson County and was named in honor 
of Gen. Jethro Sumner, a gallant officer in the Revolutionary 
War. It was the second county formed in Middle Tennessee. 

Cisco says, “The curtain of history arises on Sumner Coun¬ 
ty in the year 1779, when a settlement of a dozen families was 
formed near Bledsoe’s Lick,” now Castalian Springs. Before 
this day, however, Thomas Sharp Spencer and others had come 
into the Cumberland country and in 1777 had built a number 
of cabins about one-half mile west of Bledsoe’s Lick, and in 
1778 had planted some corn. This was the first agricultural 
effort made by men of the Anglo-Saxon race in Middle Ten¬ 
nessee. 

•The historical facts in the sketch of this county have been taken largely 
from Cisco’s Historic Sumner County. 





Counties of Tennessee 


87 


Col. Isaac Bledsoe built a fort or station about a quarter of 
a mile west of Bledsoe’s Lick; and his brother, Col. Anthony 
Bledsoe, built a fort two and one-half miles north of the Lick 
and called it “Greenfield.” 

Asher and others built a fort a little southeast of Gallatin. 
Forts were also built by John Morgan, Maj. James White, 
Colonel Sanders, Jacob Zigler, Capt. Jos. Wilson, ancestor of 
Judge S. F. Wilson,* of the State Court of Chancery Appeals, 
Kasper Mansker, Hamilton, and others. 

Among the early settlers were: Col. Isaac Bledsoe, Col. 
Anthony Bledsoe, Robert Desha, Jordon Gibson, Henry Lov¬ 
ing, William Morrison, John Morgan, John Sawyer, Robert 
Steele, Jacob Zeigler, Henry Ramsey, William Hall, Hugh 
Rogan, David Shelby, George D. Blackmore, James and 
George Winchester, Robert Peyton, Jos. Wilson, Michael 
Shafer, James Hayes, Charles Morgan, Gabriel Black, John 
Carr, Robert Brigham, Charles Campbell, William Crawford, 
Edward and Elmore Douglass, James Franklin, Richard 
Hogan, Robert and David Looney, George Mansker, Benjamin 
Kuykendall, Thomas Sharp Spencer, John Peyton, James Mc¬ 
Cain, Benjamin Porter, John Withers, John Hamilton, John 
Latham, William Snoddy, James Cartwright, James McCann, 
John and Joseph Byrns, James Trousdale, Benjamin Williams, 
John Edwards, Samuel Wilson, John Hall, William Mont¬ 
gomery, Edward Hagan, Gen. Daniel Smith, William Frazier, 
Benjamin Sheppard, and Redmond D. Berry, who introduced 
Kentucky bluegrass and brought from North Carolina his 
blooded horse, Gray Metley. 

The first court of Sumner County was held on the first 
Monday in March, 1787, at the house of John Hamilton, at 
Station Camp Creek, about five miles from Gallatin. The 
members of that court were: Gen. Daniel Smith, Maj. David 
Wilson, Maj. George Winchester, Isaac Lindsey, William 
Hall, John Hardin, Joseph Kuykendall, Col. Edward Douglass, 
and Col. Isaac Bledsoe. David Shelby, son-in-law of Col. An¬ 
thony Bledsoe, was appointed clerk. John Hardin, Jr., was 
appointed sheriff, and Isaac Lindsey, ranger. 

On April 20, 1796, the Legislature of Tennessee passed an 
act appointing commissioners to select a site for the seat of 
government. Those commissioners were: William Bowen, 
John Wilson, Isaac Walton, George D. Blackmore, and Hugh 
Crawford. The act also appointed the following trustees to 
purchase the land selected by the commissioners: Henry Brad¬ 
ford, David Shelby, and Edward Douglas. Section 3 of this 


♦Deceased. 




88 


Counties of Tennessee 


act provided that the town should be called Ca Ira, which 

name was corrupted into “Cairo,” and it was so incorporated 
on November 5, 1815. On October 2, 1797, this act was re¬ 
pealed and another act passed appointing another commission 
to select the county site, to buy land, erect a courthouse, prison, 
and stocks. 

This act also was repealed on October 26, 1799, and Sum¬ 
ner County was reduced to its constitutional limits. On No¬ 
vember 6, 1804, an act was passed by the Legislature to pro¬ 
vide for county seat and buildings and that the town should 
be called Gallatin, in honor of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the 
Treasury of the United States. 

In February, 1802, the site of Gallatin was purchased from 
James Trousdale. The courthouse was completed in 1803. 

The circuit court was established in 1810, and the chancery 
court in 1836. The sessions of the Court of Pleas and Quarter 
Sessions were held in the homes of various citizens until the 
courthouse was erected. The first session of the court after 
Tennessee was admitted into the Union was held in the house 
of Ezekiel Douglas in July, 1796. It was composed of the fol¬ 
lowing members appointed by Governor Sevier: William Cage, 
Stephen Cantrell, James Douglass, Edward Douglass, James 
Gwyn, Wetheral Lattimore, Thomas Masten, Thomas Don¬ 
ald, James Pearce, David Wilson, James Winchester, and 
Isaac Walton. Probably from eighty to one hundred persons 
in Sumner County were killed by the Indians. An academy 
for girls was incorporated November 3, 1837. It was suc¬ 
ceeded by the Howard Female Institute in 1856. Joseph S. 
Fowler was a teacher in this school. After the war he became 
a Senator of the United States from Tennessee. It was his 
vote which saved Andrew Johnson from being convicted when 
impeached. 

Early ministers from the county were: John Gwynn, James 
McGhee, Bishop McKendree, John Page, Methodists; John 
Wiseman, Baptist; William McGhee, Presbyterian. 

Statistics of Sumner County: population, 1920, 27,708. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $21,557,328. Area, 
536 square miles. Number of farms, 4,585. Railway mileage, 
62. Sumner County is one of the finest stock-raising and 
agricultural section in the state and is intersected by the 
L. & N. Railroad, borders on Kentucky, and is bounded on the 
south by the Cumberland River. Portions of it are well tim¬ 
bered and it is a fine county for fruit-growing. Phosphate 
deposits are found in the county. It has a good system of 
highways. Staple products are corn, wheat, tobacco, hay, and 



Counties of Tennessee 


89 


live stock. Gallatin, the county seat, is on the L. & N. Rail- 
road and is 30 miles from Nashville and has fine schools and 
churches, two weekly newspapers, two banks, and prosperous 
manufacturing and mercantile establishments. Gallatin has a 
population of 2,757. Portland is another prosperous town. 
Scholastic population of county, 9,672; high schools, 13; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 83. 


TROUSDALE COUNTY 


T ROUSDALE COUNTY was erected in 1870 from parts 
of Sumner, Macon, Smith, and Wilson County and was 
named in honor of William Trousdale, Governor, 1849- 

1851. 

The first court was held in the Methodist Church at Harts- 
ville on the first Monday in September, 1870. The following- 
named magistrates were present: James R. DeBow, chairman, 
Charles McMurray, and James R. Jefferies. Hartsville was 
chosen as the county seat in an election held in the following 
November. The circuit court held its first term in September, 
1870, Judge W. H. Williamson presiding. 

The following chancellors have presided over the division 
of which Trousdale County is a part: Charles G. Smith, 
Horace H. Lurton, afterwards a member of the United States 
Supreme Court, B. J. Tarver, and George H. Seay. 

The Lauderdale, Donoho, Sewell, Cunningham, Mill, and 
Caruthers families were early settlers in this county. Albert 
Gallatin Donoho was the first white child born near Harts¬ 
ville, in 1798. Like the people in all the neighboring counties, 
the early settlers here suffered much from the atrocities of 
the Indians. 

The section afterwards known as Trousdale County sent 
a company to the Mexican War under command of Capt. R. A. 
Bennett and Lieutenants J. M. Shaver, Patrick Duffy, and 
King Kirby. 

Among its distinguished officers in the War between the 
States were: Col. James Bennett, Capt. William Barksdale, 
Maj. G. Lowe, Capt. H. C. Ellis, and Col. William J. Hale. 

The battle of Hartsville was fought on December 7, 1862. 
The Federal garrison, after an hour’s fight, surrendered to the 
Confederates under Gen. John Morgan. 

Statistics of Trousdale County: population, 1920, 5,996. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $5,369,678. Area, 
166 square miles. Number of farms, 876. Railway mileage, 8. 
Drained by Cumberland River and its tributaries. Surface is 
hilly with rich valleys and splendidly adapted to stock-raising. 





90 


Counties of Tennessee 


Staple products are corn, wheat, tobacco, hay, and live stock. 
Hartsville, the county seat, is on the Cumberland River and 
the terminus of a branch of the L. & N. Railroad. It has a 
population of 1,023 and has good schools and churches, a 
weekly newspaper, two banks, and prosperous business estab¬ 
lishments. Scholastic population of county, 1,734; high 
schools, 1; elementary schools, 25. 


VAN BUREN COUNTY 


AN BUREN COUNTY was erected in 1840 from parts 



of White, Warren, and Bledsoe Counties and named 


for Martin Van Buren, who was President at that time. 
The first court was held on April 6, 1840, at Spencer, named 
for Thomas Sharp Spencer, who was killed by the Indians in 
this county. 

Burritt College, at Spencer, was established in the fifties, 
with accommodations for 250 students. Its influence on edu¬ 
cation in this section has been incalculable. 

Statistics of Van Buren County: population, 1920, 2,624. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $1,693,762. 
Area, 322 square miles. Number of farms, 432. Railway 
mileage, none. This county is well drained and has much fine 
timber and fine grazing lands for cattle and sheep. Staple 
products are corn, grasses, fruits, and live stock. Spencer, the 
county seat, has a population of about 300 and has good schools 
and churches, a bank, and prosperous business establishments. 
Scholastic population of county, 1,013. High schools, 1; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 21. 

WARREN COUNTY 

W ARREN COUNTY was erected in 1807 from a part of 
White County and is said to have been named for 


Gen. William Warren, who fell at the battle of Bunker 
Hill. It is believed that Elisha Pepper, who came from Vir¬ 
ginia about 1800, was the first settler. Other early settlers 
were: Joseph Colville, John Lusk, Lyon Mitchell, William 
Lusk, Dr. John Wilson, Edward Hogue, Dr. W. P. Lawrence, 
Absalom Clark, Elijah Fletcher, John England, Irwin Hill, 
Oliver Charles, Abner Womack, William Womack, Chesley 
Webb, John Kirby, Robert Biles, Archibald Prater, Allen 
Youngblood, Brown Spurlock, Thomas Gribble, Mason French, 
James Northcutt, William Smartt, Dr. Archibald Faulkner, 






Counties of Tennessee 


91 


Asa Faulkner, John Gross, James Cape, William Cummings, 
Joshua Hickerson, Oliver Charles, H. J. A. Hill, W. J. Stubble¬ 
field, John Davis, and James Elkins. 

Until 1810 the courts were held at the home of Joseph 
Westmoreland and in a log house near it about a half mile 
south of Barren Fork. This was near the celebrated Poplar 
Tavern where people intending to settle on Elk River usually 
stopped. In March, 1809, McMinnville was selected as the 
county seat by the commissioners, James Taylor, Thomas Mat¬ 
thews, Benjamin Lockhart, James English, and John Arm¬ 
strong. It was located on the lands of Joseph Colville, John 
A. Wilson, and Robert Cowan. In August, 1810, McMinnville 
was laid off and lots sold. 

Among the early lawyers were: T. V. Murray, Washing¬ 
ton Brittain, George Stubblefield, John B. Forester, William 
Armstrong, Stokeley D. Rowan, Andrew J. Marchbanks, 
Napoleon B. Baird, B. L. Ridley, Thomas K. Harris. 

This county has furnished soldiers for all the wars in which 
Tennessee has had a part. 

Early educational institutions were: Quincy Academy, 
founded in 1809; Edmondson Academy, established in 1820; 
Carroll Academy, in 1830; and the Cumberland Female Col¬ 
lege, in 1850. 

Early churches were: Shiloh and Sulphur Springs 
Churches, both Union and Hickory Grove, Methodist. The 
Primitive Baptist Church was the first church established in 
McMinnville in 1837. Rev. Isaac Woodward, a saintly and 
eccentric Methodist, was the best known of the pioneer min¬ 
isters. 

Dr. J. P. Lawrence was one of the first physicians. 

Statistics of Warren County: population, 1920, 17,306. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,715,632. Area, 
440 square miles. Number of farms, 2,756. Railway mileage, 
25. Drained by the Caney Fork and Rock Rivers. Surface is 
hilly with fertile valleys—splendid fruit-growing section. 
Some sections are well timbered. Staple products are corn, 
wheat, oats, and live stock. A branch of the N. C. & St. L. 
Railway intersects the county. McMinnville, the county seat, 
has a population of 2,814 and is a flourishing town with fine 
schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, three banks, man¬ 
ufacturing establishments, and prosperous stores, flour mills, 
saw mills, etc. Morrison and Rock Island are other towns. 
Scholastic population of county, 5,760, high schools, 7; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 66. 





92 


Counties of Tennessee 


WAYNE COUNTY 


W AYNE COUNTY was erected by act of the Legisla¬ 
ture on November 24, 1817, from parts of Hickman 
and Humphreys Counties and named in honor of 
Gen. Anthony Wayne. This act, however, was not engrossed 
and approved and, therefore, had to be repassed at the session 
of 1819. 

The first meeting for organization of the county court was 
held at the house of Benjamin Hardin, on the Factor’s fork of 
Shoal Creek at the crossing of the Natchez Trace. The next 
meeting was held at William Barnett’s on the Old Town 
Branch where Barnett had built a log courthouse, and the 
following magistrates were present: Benjamin Hardin, Jesse 
Cypert, William B. Curtis, William Burns, Perley and David 
Gallaher, Reuben Kyle, John Meredith, C. W. Pope, William 
B. Ross, Henry Rayburn, and William B. Walker. 

The county officers elected were: William Barnett, county 
court clerk; Benjamin Hardin, sheriff; John M. Barnett, cir¬ 
cuit court clerk; John McClure, register; John Meredith, trus¬ 
tee; John Hill, ranger; and W. B. Payne, coroner. 

Courts were held at this place until 1823, when the county 
seat was moved to Waynesboro, which was founded by Wil¬ 
liam Burns, in 1821, and was sold by him to the commissioners 
appointed to locate the county seat, viz: Nathan Biffer, Charles 
Burns, James Hollis, and John Hill. This land, forty acres, 
was divided into lots, which were sold and proceeds used to 
erect a courthouse. 

The first chancery court was held at Waynesboro in 1847, 
Judge Terry H. Cahal presiding, C. B. McLean, clerk and 
master. 

The mineral deposits of the county are extensive. The 
iron deposits have been and are still being worked. There are 
also important deposits of maganese and cement. 

Wayne and Hardin Counties are two of the best wooded 
counties in the state. 

The first schools, Ashland Academy, was built at Waynes¬ 
boro in 1843. In 1849 the Female Academy was established 
at the same place. 

The Masonic Academy was built at Clifton in 1855 and 
Frank Hughes College also at Clifton in 1906. 

The first settlement was made on Pine River by Adam 
Wilson. 

Statistics of Wayne County: population, 1920, 12,877. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $4,232,812. Area, 
720 square miles. Number of farms, 1,651. Railway mileage, 




Counties of Tennessee 


93 


18. Drained by tributaries of the Tennessee River. Surface 
generally hilly and is a splendid fruit-growing section. A 
large part of the county is well timbered. Staple products are 
corn, wheat, cotton, hay, and live stock. Limestone and iron 
ore are found in the county. Waynesboro, the county seat, has 
a population of about 600 and has good schools and churches, 
bank, and prosperous business establishments. Collinwood, 
another town, has large manufacturing interests. Scholastic 
population of county, 5,220; high schools, 4; elementary 
schools, 71. 


WHITE COUNTY 


W HITE COUNTY was erected on September 11, 1806, 
from a part of Smith County and was named for John 
White, one of the first settlers in this county. The 
first settlements were made in the valley of the Calf Killer 
River, so named for an Indian Chief. Among the early settlers 
were: John White, Elijah Camerson, William Phillips, John 
Knowles, Archibald Overton, Aaron England, William Scar¬ 
borough, Isaac Taylor, Alexander Lowery, George W. Gibbs, 
John Hancock, T. B. Rice, Joseph Terry, Anthony Dibrell, 
Jacob A. Lane, Thomas Simpson, William Anderson, Matthais 
Anderson, Benjamin Lampton, Lewis Fletcher, Thomas 
Bounds, Jesse Lincoln, William Glenn, William Burton, 
Joseph Collins, Montgomery Carrick. 

The first court was held at the house of Joseph Terry, on 
the present site of Rock Island, in Warren County, on October 
15, 1806. 

In 1809 the Legislature passed an act for the establishment 
of Sparta, the county seat, and the following commissioners 
were elected to lay it ofif: Thomas Bounds, Benjamin Weaver, 
Aaron England, Turner Lane, James Fulkerson Alexander 
Lowry, and Nicholas Gillentine. 

The first courthouse was built of logs in 1810 and stood until 
1815 when a brick building was erected, which was used until 
1894, when a new building was constructed. 

For several years the superior court met in White County, 
at first at Rock Island, and later at Sparta. 

Among the early lawyers were: Alexander Lane, David 
Ames, Nathaniel Hoggard, Richard Nelson, John H. Anderson, 
Hopkins L. Turney, Sam Turney, John Catron, and George 
W. Gibbs. 

The first representative in Congress from White County 
was Thomas K. Harris. He was killed in a duel with Col. John 




94 


Counties of Tennessee 


W. Simpson at Shell’s Ford on Caney Fork River. Prior to 
this unfortunate occurrence, Col. Simpson had distinguished 
himself at the battle of New Orleans as had Captain Gibbs, 
also of White County. 

White County also furnished troops for the Creek War, 
the War with Mexico, and the War between the States. 

About 1815 a turnpike road built from Nashville to Knox¬ 
ville passed through Sparta. 

The mineral wealth of White County, especially coal, is re¬ 
markable. In 1882 the Bon Air Coal, Land & Lumber Com¬ 
pany was organized by Gen. George G. Dibrell and his asso¬ 
ciates, ex-Governor John C. Brown, Col. John F. House, Gen. 
J. D. Adkins, Gen. W. C. Whitthorne, Hon. Benton McMillin, 
then a member of Congress, Dr. W. M. Morrow, D. W. Dinges, 
Samuel G. Jones, and W. C. Dibrell. 

Statistics of White County: population, 1920, 15,701. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,845,005. Area, 
390 square miles. Number of farms, 2,024. Railway mileage, 
36. Drained by the Caney Fork River. The surface is uneven 
and extensively covered with timber. The soil is fertile. The 
staple products are corn, wheat, oats, and live stock. Good 
fruit-growing section. The Bon Air Coal Mines are located in 
this county. A branch of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. 
Louis Railway extends into the county. Sparta, the county 
seat, with a population of 1,517, is on the railroad and is a 
town of good schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, two 
banks, and manufacturing and commercial establishments, elec¬ 
tric light and power plant. -Scholastic population of county, 
5,869; high schools, 3; elementary schools, 56. 


WILLIAMSON COUNTY* 

T HE act creating Williamson County was passed on Oc¬ 
tober 26, 1799. It was formed from Davidson County 
and, according to Dr. W. M. Clarke, named for “General 
Williamson, of North Carolina, some of whose descendants 
were prominent men of that day; among others, Dr. Hugh 
Williamson, the intimate friend and companion of Franklin. 
It is supposed by some that the county received its name from 


•The historical facts in this sketch are taken partly from Park Marshall's 
History of Franklin and Williamson Counties, published serially in the Williamson 
County News. Mr. Marshall made a scrapbook of the clippings which he pre¬ 
sented to the State on November 18, 1919. 






Counties of Tennessee 


95 


Dr. Williamson and the county seat from the name of his 
eminent friend.”f 

Hunters and explorers went into Williamson County as 
early as 1784, and the Harpeth (spelled at first Harpath) was 
known in that same year. Permanent settlements, however, 
were not made until shortly before 1800, on account of fear of 
the Indians. Probably the first permanent settlement was 
made in 1798 by several families headed by David McEwen, 
who located at Roper’s Knob. At nearly the same time Wil¬ 
liam Demonbreun, son of the famous Timothy Demonbreun, 
settled at College Grove. A pioneer named Sledge settled near 
Paytonsville. 

Among the numerous pioneers who settled in this county 
from 1797 to 1810 may be mentioned Stephen Childress, 
Nicholas Perkins, Byrd Bramlett, Edmund Wall, John Har¬ 
ness, R. P. Currin, Robert Caruthers, Zion Hunt, William 
Hulme, Solomen Brent, Abram Maury, Thos. McKay, Ewen 
Cameron,| William Edmondston, Matthew Johnson, Thomas 
H. Perkins, George Neely, Andrew Goff, John Fulson, and 
Samuel Crockett. 

The act of October 26, 1799, provided “that Abraham 
Maury, John Walthall, Joseph Porter, William Boyd, and 
David McEwen are hereby constituted and appointed com¬ 
missioners for the regulation of said town of Franklin, vested 
with full power and authority for that purpose, provided they 
govern themselves by the original plan of said town.” 

This plan was filed in the clerk’s office April 5, 1800. The 
court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions held its first meeting on 
February 3, the first Monday in February, 1800, at the house 
of Thomas McKay on the site of Franklin and continued to 
meet there until November 3, 1800, when and afterwards its 
sessions were held at the courthouse. The magistrates present 
at the first meeting were: John Johnson, Sr., James Buford, 
James Scurlock, Chapman White, and Daniel Perkins. Scur- 
lock was elected chairman, but resigned and was succeeded 
by White. 

The first courthouse was probably on the square. Being a 
poor structure, it was succeeded by a new courthouse author¬ 
ized by the General Assembly on September 11, 1806. This 
courthouse was erected in the center of the public square. 
Among the lawyers practicing in Franklin in the early days 
were: Thomas H. Benton, John H. Eaton, Seth Lewis, Jesse 
Wharton, I. Johnston, L. P. Montgomery, Joseph Herndon, 


fKillebrew’s Resources of Tennessee, page 991. 

Jit is said that he erected the first house in Franklin in 1797. 




96 


Counties of Tennessee 


John Dickinson, John McNutt, William Smith, Bennett 
Searcy, P. W. Humphreys, G. W. L. Mann, Peter R. Booker, 
Felix Grundy. 

The circuit court was authorized by the Legislature on 
November 16, 1809. Thomas Stewart was Circuit Judge 
from November, 1811 to 1836. The first solicitor before this 
court was Alfred Balch. 

Among the notable cases tried in the Franklin Court was 
the “Crenshaw case.” Daniel Crenshaw was indicted in 1826 
for stealing a horse from Robert C. Foster and a gray mare 
from Kersiah Wooldridge, also for forgery. He was defended 
by John Bell and pleaded “Benefit of Clergy,” thereby escap¬ 
ing punishment in two cases. 

Another notable case was the trial of David Perry and 
Jonathan Magness for the killing of Patten Anderson, the 
friend of Andrew Jackson. 

Williamson County is rich in the number of prominent and 
famous men who have lived there. Among them the follow¬ 
ing deserve special mention: Thomas H. Benton, whose 
mother moved from North Carolina to occupy a tract of forty 
thousand acres a few miles from Franklin. From 1808 to 1812 
he had more cases at the Franklin bar than any other lawyer. 

John Bell, born in Nashville, was sworn in as an attorney 
in Franklin in 1816 at the age of nineteen. 

Meredith P. Gentry, one of the greatest of Tennessee 
orators, Rev. Gideon Blackburn, a minister in Franklin from 
1811 to 1822. 

In 1825 the following-named distinguished lawyers were 
practicing at the Franklin bar: Felix Grundy, George W. 
Campbell, John Bell, G. S. Yerger, William Hadley, W. S. 
Hunt, John Thompson, William McGee, William Thompson, 
A. P. Maury, M. W. Campbell, David Craighead, P. S. Daily, 
Andrew Hays, Sam Houston, Robert C. Foster, N. P. Smith, 
C. S. Olmstead, Thomas Washington, James P. Clark, Jesse 
Greer, and N. P. Perkins. 

The important educational institutions were: Harpeth Acad¬ 
emy, chartered in 1807, and the buildings sold to Randall Mc- 
Gavock in 1823; Harpeth Union Female Academy established 
in 1828; Tennessee Female College; and Battle Ground Aca¬ 
demy. 

The battle of Franklin which, when the forces engaged are 
considered, was the bloodiest of the war was fought on No¬ 
vember 30th, 1864. 

Statistics of Williamson County: population, 1920, 23,409. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $22,529,433. 



Counties of Tennessee 


97 


Area, 550 square miles. Number of farms, 3,355. Radway 
mileage, 60. Drained by Harpeth River. Surface is rolling 
and very fertile with fine growth of timber. Wheat, oats, 
corn, cotton, and live stock are staple products. Franklin, the 
county seat, twenty miles from Nashville, on the L. & N. Rail¬ 
road, has a population of 3,123, good schools and churches, two 
weekly newspapers, three banks, and manufacturing and com¬ 
mercial establishments. Extensive deposits of phosphate are 
found in this county. Scholastic population, 10,192; high 
schools, 10; elementary schools, 89. 


WILSON COUNTY 

W ILSON COUNTY and Smith County were erected 
on the same day, October 26, 1799, from a part of 
Sumner County. Wilson County was named for Maj. 
David Wilson, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Sumner 
while it was yet a part of North Carolina and had been the first 
Speaker of the Territorial Assembly. 

The first court of the county was held on December 23, 
1799, at the house* of Capt. John Harpool (or Harpole) and 
was organized by the following-named magistrates. Charles 
Cavenaugh, John Alcorn, John Lancaster, Elmore Douglas, 
John Doak, Matthew Figures, Henry Ross, William Gray, An¬ 
drew Donelson, and William McClain. The following-named 
officers were elected’ Charles Cavenaugh, chairman, Robert 
Foster, clerk; Charles Rosborough, sheriff; William Gray, 
ranger; and John Alcorn, register. Ben Seawell, Esq., was ap¬ 
pointed county solicitor, and John C. Hamilton qualified as a 
practicing attorney. 

The first settlement in the county was at Drake s Lick on 
the Cumberland River and was made in 1797 by John Foster 
and William McClain. In 1799 a settlement was made on 
Spring Creek, seven miles southeast of Lebanon by John Fos¬ 
ter, William Donnell, and Alexander Barkley (or Barclay). 
In the same year a settlement was made at Round Lick by 
Samuel King, James Rather, William McSpadden, and Wil¬ 
liam Harris, and on Spring Creek eight or nine miles south of 
Lebanon by David Magathey, Foster Doak, John Doak, Alex¬ 
ander Braden, and the Donnells. 

After 1800 immigrants came in constantly in increasing 
numbers. Robin Shannon, Lee Harrelson, John Ozment, 
John Spinks, John Rice, and others settled at Pond Lick, Jacob 


♦Probably on Spring Creek, five miles north of Lebanon. 





98 Counties of Tennessee 

Vantrease, Thomas B. Reece, John Caplinger, Edmund Jen¬ 
nings, John Patton, George Hearn, James Edwards, Duncan 
Johnson, Daniel Smith, Isaac Grandstaff, Evans Tracy, Wil¬ 
liam Neal, Shelah Waters, Joseph Barbee, Solomon Bass, 
John Lawrence, Jordan Bass, John Green, William Coe, John 
Phillips, William Haines, Arthur Hawkins, Benjamin Phil¬ 
lips, and John W. Peyton located at Round Lick; Martin Tal¬ 
ley, William Sherrill, Pernell Hearn, James Cannon, John 
Jones, Benjamin Mottley, Henry Chandler, Adair Harpole, and 
Gregory Johnson, on Spring Creek; Robert Jarmon, Lewis 
Merritt, David Fields, Jonathan Ozment, Dawson Hancock, 
and Seldon Baird, on Sinking Creek; Absalom Knight, John 
Gibson, Charles Cummings, Henry Mosier, John Merritt, 
Frank Young, Joseph Stacey, and Charles Warren, on Hurri¬ 
cane Creek; Frank Puckett, William Lester, John Donnell, 
Lord Sellers, John Alsup, Aaron Edwards, Sampson Smith, 
Jacob Jennings, and William Warren, on Fall Creek; Hooker 
Reeves, Joseph Weir, Lewis Chambers, Nathan Cartwright, 
William Wilson, Matthew Figures, on Cedar Creek; Joseph 
Castleman, Joseph Hamilton, Thomas Drennon, Benjamin 
Dobson, Aquila Suggs, and Benjamin Hooker, on Suggs’ 
Creek; Clement Jennings, James H. Davis, Thomas Davis, 
Joshua Kelley, Harrison Hays, Theophilas Bass, on Cedar 
Lick Creek; George L. Smith, William Oakley, Charles Rich, 
Reason Byrne, Abner Bone, James McAdoo, Edward Pickett, 
John Adams, David Ireland, on Smith Ford; Caleb Taylor, 
James Hunter, Joseph Kirkpatrick, Daniel Glenn, Sterling 
Tarpley, and William Saunders, on the Cumberland River. 

The first white male child born in the county was probably 
Josiah McClain, who was county court clerk for more than 
forty years. , 

Lawyers who practiced in the courts of Wilson County in 
the first years were: Jesse Wharton, Nicholas Perkins, John 
B. Johnson, Lemuel Herrod, John Dickinson, Charles Smith. 

In 1802 the court was held at the house of Henry Turner 
on Barton Creek. 

Lebanon was chosen as the county seat in 1802 and was 
located on land previously belonging to James Menees. It 
was named for the Biblical Lebanon because, like the ancient 
city, it was remarkable for its cedars. It was incorporated in 
1807. Neddie Jacobs, a peculiar character and a fiddler, was 
the first settler on this site. Tradition says he was living 
there as early as 1800. The earliest physicians were: Drs. 
Samuel Hogg, Edmund Crutcher, and Henry Shelley. Dr. 
Shelley built the first brick house in Lebanon in 1812. John 




Counties of Tennessee 


99 


Alcorn was the first postmaster and John Trotter the first 
school teacher. The first church was erected by the Method¬ 
ists in 1802 and Rev. German Baker was the pastor. 

From December, 1802 to 1806, the Court of Pleas and 
Quarter Sessions met at private houses. In 1806 the first 
courthouse, of cedar logs, was built. 

The first session of the circuit court was held at the court¬ 
house on September 24, 1810, Judge Thomas Stewart presid¬ 
ing. Early circuit judges were: Thomas Stewart, 1810-1830; 
James C. Mitchell, 1830-1835; Samuel Anderson, 1835-1852. 

Lebanon and Wilson County have been justly celebrated 
for educational facilities from the establishment of the first 
school taught by Benjamin Alexander in 1800 to the present 
day. Among their institutions are or have been: Campbell 
Academy, Brevard College, Abby Institute, Carroll Academy, 
Corona, Greenwood Seminary, Cumberland University, and 
Castle Heights School. 

Revolutionary soldiers who settled in Wilson County were: 
James Scott, Jeremiah McWhirter, Anthony Gann, Philip 
Shackler, John Harpole, John Dabney, Edward Mitchell, and 
John Wynn. 

Wilson County sent two companies to the War of 1812 un¬ 
der the command of Capt. John Hayes and Capt. Charles Wade, 
among whose soldiers were: Fred Askew, Joseph Settle, 
George Dillard, William Norman, William Hartsfield, 
Lawrence Sypert, Zachariah Tolliver, William Sypert, Kit 
Seaburn, James Carson, William Meyers, William Martin, 
Grief Randolph, T. K. Ramsey, John Shackleford, and William 

Harrison. 

A company under Capt. J. J. Finley went from Wilson 
County to the Seminole War in 1836, and another company 
went in 1837 under Capt. W. L. S. Dearing. Among these 
troops were: T. J. Stratton, John D. Mottley, John Wilbury, 
P. Hern, J. N. Kennedy, Dawson Hancock, W. W. Talley, 
Nathan Oakley, George W. Lewis, E. S. Smith, Lewis Pendle¬ 
ton, William Watkins, J. H. Kennedy, Samuel T. Powers, and 
John Alexander. 

Two companies also took part in the Mexican War under 
Captains Hayes and Smith. 

Statistics of Wilson County: population, 1920, 26,241. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $21,653,882. Area, 
536 square miles. Number of farms, 4,134. Railway mileage, 
54. Drained by the Cumberland River and its tributaries. One 
of the best live stock counties in the state. Staple products are 
wheat, corn, oats, hay, tobacco, and live stock. Traversed by 



100 


Counties of Tennessee 


the N. C. & St. L. Railway and the Tennessee Central Rail¬ 
way. Lebanon, the county seat, is 30 miles from Nashville 
on the Tennessee Central Railway and has fine schools and 
churches. It is the seat of Cumberland University and Castle 
Heights Training School. Has two weekly newspapers, four 
banks, electric light plant, and manufacturing establishments, 
including a cotton and woolen mill, cannery, etc. Watertown 
is another prosperous town. Scholastic population of county, 
9,277; high schools, 12; elementary schools, 107. 



WEST TENNESSEE 


BENTON COUNTY 


B ENTON COUNTY was erected on November 24, 1835, 
from parts of Humphreys and Henry Counties and was 
named in honor of Thomas H. Benton. It was organized 
on February 7, 1836, by the commissioners, Green Flowers, 
Ephraim Perkins, Lewis Brewer, John F. Johnson, and George 
Camp. They met at the house of Samuel Haliburton, in Tran¬ 
quility, on the stage road from Nashville to Memphis, about 
a mile west of Camden. 

The first settlement was made in 1819 by Willis and Den¬ 
nis Rushing, on Rushing’s Creek, about six miles north of 
Camden. Among the early settlers were: David Watson, 
Lewis Graham, Joseph Cowell, Zachary Barker, Benjamin Hol¬ 
land, Michael Fry, Cas Matlock, John Anderson, and James 
Wyly. 

Camden, the county seat, was located on the land of John 
Jackson whose only title was that of occupancy. The town 
was surveyed and laid off in December, 1836. Irwin B. Carnes 
built the first dwelling in the town. Thomas H. Burton, An¬ 
derson Lashlee, and James Haywood also built about the same 
time. 

The first courthouse was of logs, but in 1837 a two-story 
brick courthouse was constructed. 

The officers of the first county court were: Thomas Hali¬ 
burton, county court clerk; Thomas Jones, sheriff; John H. 
Williams, trustee; George Hollowed, county superintendent of 
schools. 

The first newspaper published in the county was the Cen¬ 
tral Democrat, established by William Doherty in 1852. The 
first school in the county was started in 1822 or 1823 on 
Rushing’s Creek. The teacher was Allen C. Presson. The 
first church, Primitive Baptist, was organized by George 
Turner and Levi Kirkland. Cowell’s Chapel Church was or¬ 
ganized in 1824 by Benjamin Peebles, a pioneer circuit rider 
and presiding elder of West Tennessee. Among the early Bap¬ 
tist ministers were: Obadiah Hardin, Jacob Browning, Lemuel 
Herrin, and Josiah Arnold. Early Presbyterian ministers 
were: Samuel T. Thomas, Abner Cooper, and H. Babbitt. 
Early circuit riders were: Thomas Smith, Robert Collins, and 
Levi B. Lee. 



102 


Counties of Tennessee 


Statistics of Benton County: population, 1920, 12,045. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $5,207,788. Area, 
412 square miles. Number of farms, 1,984. Railway mileage, 
26. This county is bounded on the east by the Tennessee 
River. Portions of the county are well timbered. The sur¬ 
face is level and the soil generally fertile. This is one of the 
peanut-growing counties, and other staple products are corn, 
cotton, wheat, oats, vegetables, and live stock. Intersected by 
the N. C. & St. L. Railroad. Camden, the county seat, has a 
population of 800 and is on the N. C. & St. L. Railway. It has 
good schools, churches, a weekly newspaper, two banks, and 
flourishing mercantile establishments. Scholastic population 
of county, 4,332; high schools, 3; elementary schools, 62. 


CARROLL COUNTY 

O N October 19, 1818, Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby 
made a treaty with the Chickasaw Indians whereby all 
their lands east of the Mississippi River were ceded to 
the United States. Their lands within the limits of Tennessee 
became the Western District of this state and, on November 
7, 1821, an act* was passed entitled, “An act to form and es¬ 
tablish new counties west of the Tennessee River.” Under 
the provisions of this act Carroll County was formed and 
named in honor of Gen. William Carroll, who was governor 
of the state at that time. It was organized on March 11, 1822, 
at the house of R. E. C. Dougherty, where the first court of 
Pleas and Quarter Sessions was held. Huntingdon, near the 
center of the county, was selected as the county seat, and the 
first session of the court was held there in a log courthouse 
on December 9, 1822. 

The first settlers came from North Carolina, South Caro¬ 
lina, and Virginia, some locating as early as 1820. 

This county furnished a company for the War with Mexico 
and several companies to each side in the War between the 
States. 

Statistics of Carroll County: population, 1920, 24,361. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $12,243,353. Area, 
600 square miles. Number of farms, 4,141. Railway mileage, 
68. Drained by Big Sandy and Obion Rivers. Surface gen¬ 
erally level, and there is considerable timber. Corn, cotton, 
wheat, fruits, and live stock are staple products. Fruit-grow¬ 
ing and poultry raising are profitable industries. Huntingon, 


’Chapter XXXII, Acts of 1821, page 39. 





Counties of Tennessee 


103 


the county seat, has a population of 1,121, has good public and 
private schools, two newspapers, two banks, electric lights, 
water works, manufacturing establishments, and stores. Mc¬ 
Kenzie, another town, has a population of 1,630 and is on the 
churches, and prosperous business establishments. Truck- 
N. C. & St. Ly. Railroad. It has fine schools, a weekly paper, 
growing is one of the leading industries in Carroll County. 
Scholastic population, 8,331; high schools, 10; elementary 
schools, 90. 


CHESTER COUNTY 

C HESTER COUNTY was erected on March 1, 1879, from 
fractions of Madison, Henderson, McNairy, and Harde¬ 
man Counties and named in honor of Col. Robert I. 
Chester.* On March 19, 1875, a new county named Wisdom 
County had been erected out of the same fractions and this 
act was repealed by the act which created Chester County. 

The early history of Chester County is the history of the 
counties out of which it was formed. 

Statistics of Chester County: population, 1920, 9,669. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $3,998,171. Area, 
288 square miles. Number of farms, 1,667. Railway mileage, 
16. This county is on the high lands of West Tennessee and 
is drained by the Forked Deer River and intersected by the 
Mobile and Ohio Railroad. The soil is sandy and fertile. Cot¬ 
ton is the leading staple, but other crops are profitably grown. 
Henderson, the county seat, is on the M. & O. Railroad and 
has a population of 1,181. It has a weekly newspaper, good 
schools and churches, three banks, manufacturing establish¬ 
ments and stores. Scholastic population of county, 3,339; 
high schools, 2; elementary schools, 42. 


CROCKETT COUNTY 


C ROCKETT COUNTY was erected on December 20, 
1845, from parts of Haywood, Madison, Gibson, and 
Dyer Counties. The caption of the act is, “An act to 
establish Crockett County in honor of and to perpetuate the 
memory of David Crockett, one of Tennessee’s distinguished 
sons.” In this act commissioners were appointed to hold an 
election to ascertain if the voters in the fractions appropriated 

♦This distinguished man was quartermaster of the Fourth Tennessee Regi¬ 
ment, commanded by Col. Samuel Baylesa, in the War of 1812. 







104 


Counties of Tennessee 


to the new county acquiesced in this action. In 1846 Judge 
Read, of Madison County, decided that Crockett was not a 
constitutional county. 

On July 7, 1870, the Legislature passed another act with 
the same caption as that of 1845, and this time Crockett Coun¬ 
ty was constitutionally erected. In the latter act the commis¬ 
sioners appointed were: A. B. Howlett, James Emerson, David 
Whitacre, A. T. Fielder, G. W. Bettes, John Lyon, J. C. Thorp, 
and T. F. Conly. Considerable opposition from the old coun¬ 
ties had to be overcome. E. B. Mason, of Madison County, 
filed injunction suits in the chancery courts of the four coun¬ 
ties affected, but the organization of the new county was 
finally effected. 

On March 9, 1872, an election was held for county and dis¬ 
trict officers; and the county court, with Isaac M. Johnson, 
chairman, was organized in the same month. 

The circuit court was held on April 8, 1872, in Alamo, the 
county seat, named for the Alamo in Austin, Tex., where 
Crockett lost his life. 

The earliest pioneers, about 1823, were: John B. Boykin, 
Robert Johnson, Giles Hawkins, Cornelius Bunch, John Bow¬ 
ers, E. Williams, and John Yancy. 

Statistics of Crockett County: population, 1920, 17,438. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $9,235,694. Area, 
275 square miles. Number of farms, 3,072. Railway mileage, 
36. Drained by Forked Deer River and well timbered in parts. 
Soil in eastern portion sandy loam and clay and adapted to 
profitable growing of fruits and vegetables. Western portion 
is level and fertile and well adapted to the production of cot¬ 
ton, corn, wheat, and other staple crops. Alamo, the county 
seat, has a population of 720, has good schools and churches, 
two banks, flourishing stores, and manufacturing establish¬ 
ments. Bells, on the railroad, has a population of 920, good 
schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, two banks, manu¬ 
facturing establishments and stores. Gadsden, Crockett Mills, 
and Maury City are other towns. Scholastic population, 6,037 ; 
high schools, 2; elementary schools, 47. 


DECATUR COUNTY 


D ECATUR COUNTY was created in November, 1845, 
from a part of Perry County by Section 11, of Chapter 
VII, of the acts of that year. The wording is as follows: 
“That a new county be and is hereby established to be com¬ 
posed of all that part of Perry County lying on the west side 




Counties of Tennessee 


105 


of Tennessee River, to be known and distinguished by the 
name of Decatur County, in honor of and to perpetuate the 
memory of Commodore Stephen Decatur, of the United States 
Navy, of whose services our nation should be proud and whose 
memory should be revered.” 

The board of commissioners mentioned in this act to or¬ 
ganize the county were: John C. Yarbrough, William J. 
Menzies, John S. Walker, Samuel Brashear, and David B. 
Funderburg. 

The provision was also made that the act should go into 
effect “from and after the first Thursday in March, 1846.” 

Decaturville was chosen by popular election as the county 
seat. 

Statistics of Decatur County: population, 1920, 10,198. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $3,182,916. Area, 
310 quare miles. Number of farms, 1,813. Railway mileage, 
11. Bounded on the east and south by the Tennessee River. 
Surface is comparatively level and covered with a fine growth 
of timber. Iron ore, marble, granite, and phosphate are found 
in the county. Corn, cotton, and hogs are staple products. 
Decaturville, the county seat, has a population of 315 and is 
five miles from the Tennessee River and the same distance 
from the N. C. & St. L. Railroad. It has good schools and 
churches, a weekly newspaper, a bank, and prosperous busi¬ 
ness establishments. Parsons, on the railroad, has a popula¬ 
tion of 429, good schools and churches, two banks, and pros¬ 
perous business establishments. Scholastic population of 
county, 3,580; high schools, 4; elementary schools, 55. 


DYER COUNTY 

D YER COUNTY was erected on October 16, 1823, from 
the Western District and was named in honor of Col. 
Henry Dyer. It was organized in October, 1824, and, 
in accordance with a provision of the Court of Pleas and Quar¬ 
ter Sessions and of the circuit court, were held at the house of 
John Warren until 1826, when they were held in Dyersburg, 
the county seat. The magistrates of the first court were: John 
Rutherford, Benjamin Porter, John D. Burris, William Lyrrell, 
and Dr. Thomas Hash. The chairman was John Rutherford 
and the clerk William Mitchell. 

The first settlement was made in 1820 at Key Corner, 
now in Uauderdale County. The second settlement, in 1821, 




106 


Counties of Tennessee 


was made about four miles east of Dyersburg by George 
Davis, William Martin, Jerry Pierce, and Willis Chamberlain. 

Dyersburg was laid off in 1825 and incorporated in 1826. 

It is believed that the first house in the county was of logs 
and built by Elias Dement. 

Statistics of Dyer County: population, 1920, 29,983. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $17,819,244. Area, 
495 square miles. Number of farms, 3922. Railway mileage, 
69. Bounded on the west by the Mississippi River and well 
drained by smaller streams. It is hilly, rolling, and level and 
is one of the most fertile counties in the state. Well adapted 
to the production of cereals, cotton, and other crops. Inter¬ 
sected by the Illinois Central Railroad and the Birmingham 
and Northwestern. Staple products are cotton, corn, wheat, 
potatoes, hay, lumber, and live stock. Dyersburg, the county 
seat, has a population of 6,444 and is a flourishing town, on 
both railroads, and 76 miles north of Memphis. It is a manu¬ 
facturing town and has fine schools and churches, three banks, 
a weekly newspaper, and prosperous commercial establish¬ 
ments. Newbern has a population of 1,767, good schools and 
churches, a weekly newspaper, two banks, manufacturing, and 
commercial enterprises. Scholastic population of county, 10,- 
769; high schools, 10; elementary schools, 75. 


FAYETTE COUNTY 

F AYETTE COUNTY was erected on September 29, 1824, 
from fractions of Hardeman and Shelby Counties and was 
named in honor of Marquis de la Fayette. As provided 
by the act, the sessions of the Court of Pleas and Quarter 
Sessions were held at the house of Robert G. Thornton, the 
first meeting being on December 6, 1824. The subsequent 
meetings of the court were held here until November, 1825. 
The chairman of the first court was Edmund D. Tarver, and 
the first clerk was Henry M. Johnson, who was the first settler 
of Somerville. Only one case was tried at the first session and 
brought into the treasury of the county six and one-fourth 
cents as a fine. Wolf scalps were taken as shown by the en¬ 
tries of the clerk. A tax of thirty-seven and one-half cents on 
one hundred acres brought in a revenue of $750, in 1825, in 
which year Robert Cotton was taxed on a four-wheel carriage, 
the only one in the county. 

Settlements began about 1822, when Thomas J. Cocke, of 
North Carolina, located in the northwestern part of the county. 




Counties of Tennessee 


107 


In February, 1825, the county seat, Somerville, was located 
on lands donated by George Bowers and James Brown, and 
the first session in this place was held in a log cabin on the 
public square. Three years later the first stage came to town. 

Somerville was named in honor of Lieut. Robert Somer¬ 
ville, who was killed in the battle of Tohopeka. 

Statistics of Fayette County: population, 1920, 31,499. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $13,974,350. Area, 
630 square miles. Number of farms, 5,875. Railway mileage, 
80. This county borders on the Mississippi River, and the 
surface is generally level and in portions well timbered. Cot¬ 
ton is the leading product in the county, but it is well adapted 
to fruits and berries, and this industry is developing. It is. a 
large producer of strawberries. Cotton, corn, fruit, and live 
stock are staple products. Traversed by the L. & N., the 
Southern, and the N. C. & St. L. Railroads. Somerville, the 
county seat, has a population of 1,106 and is on the Loosa- 
hatchie River. It has fine schools and churches, a weekly 
newspaper, two banks, prosperous business establishments and 
is surrounded by fine cotton plantations. Scholastic popula¬ 
tion of county, 11, 771; high schools, 11; elementary schools 


56. 


GIBSON COUNTY 


IBSON COUNTY was erected on October 21, 1823, from 



the Western District, “in honor of and to perpetuate the 


memory of Col. John H. Gibson.” The act provided 
that, at first, the courts should hold their sessions at the house 
of Luke Biggs, four miles from Trenton, which was called 
Gibsonport until 1825, when the court was held at Trenton 
for the first time. 

The first magistrates commissioned were: William P. Leat, 
Robert Edmondson, Obey Blakemore, Benjamin White, 
Robert Read,-Rice, Abner Burgan, John D. Love, Wil¬ 

liam W. Craig, W. B. C. Killingsworth, John J. Lane, and F. 
Davis. The first session began on January 1, 1824, and Wil¬ 
liam P. Leat was chairman and Thomas Fite, clerk. 

The first settlement was made in 1819 by Thomas Fite and 
John Spencer, his brother-in-law. They came from Warren 
County and located about eight miles east of Trenton. David 
Crockett also lived in the same year near Rutherford and was 
joined in a few months by his family. 

Early lawyers were: A. O. Totten, Felix Parker, and 
J. FI. Talbot. Later lawyers were: John W. Crockett, who be- 





108 


Counties of Tennessee 


came attorney-general, John A. Talliferro, M. R. Hill, R. P. 
Caldwell, and Robila P. Raines. Gibson County has furnished 
three members of the State Supreme Court, viz: A. W. O. 
Totten, T. J. Freeman, and W. C. Caldwell. 

Statistics of Gibson County: population, 1920, 43,388. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $26,048,985. Area, 
615 square miles. Number of farms, 6,585. Railway mileage, 
71. Drained by Obion and Forked Deer Rivers. One of the 
leading agricultural counties in the state. Surface generally 
level and very fertile. Portions are well timbered. Cotton is 
the leading product, and other staples are corn, wheat, fruits, 
vegetables, and live stock. Truck-growing is a leading in¬ 
dustry, large quantities of early vegetables being shipped to 
northern markets. Trenton, the county seat, has a population 
of 2,751, and is on the Forked Deer River and the M. & O. 
Railroad. It has a number of manufacturing establishments, 
two weekly newspapers, good schools and churches, three 
banks, and prosperous mercantile establishments. Humboldt, 
at the junction of the M. & O. Railroad and L. & N. Railroad, 
has a population of 3,913 and is the center of a large trucking 
section. It has good schools and churches, a weekly news¬ 
paper, two banks, manufacturing and commercial establish¬ 
ments. It is a large shipping point for fruits and early vege¬ 
tables, poultry and eggs. Milan, another town at the junction 
of the Illinois Central and the L. & N., has a population of 
2,057 and is also a vegetable and fruit shipping point of im¬ 
portance. It has good schools and churches, a weekly news¬ 
paper, two banks, and manufacturing and commercial estab¬ 
lishments. Scholastic population of county, 15,339; high 
schools, 30. 


HARDEMAN COUNTY 

H ARDEMAN COUNTY was erected on October 16, 1823, 
from the Western District and was named in honor of 
Col. Thomas Jones Hardeman. By the act which creat¬ 
ed it this county was directed to have the first sessions of its 
courts held at the house of Thomas McNeil. On October 17, 
1823, the county was organized by the following-named com¬ 
missioners: Andrew Taylor, William Polk, Jacob Pirtle, John 
Y. Cochran, William P. Robertson, Nathan Stell, and John 
Rosson. William Polk was chosen chairman; Thomas Harde¬ 
man, clerk; J. C. N. Robertson, sheriff; of the first Court of 
Pleas and Quarter Sessions. 





Counties of Tennessee 


109 


Settlements began in 1819, but the first notable settlement 
was made in 1821 by Col. Ezekiel Polk, grandfather of Presi¬ 
dent James K. Polk; William Polk, son of Col. Ezekiel Polk; 
Thomas McNeal, son-in-law of Col. Ezekiel Polk; Thomas J. 
Hardeman and his grandson, Rufus P. Neely. 

The committee appointed to select the county seat was 
composed of Abram Maury, William Hall, James Fentress 
and Benjamin Reynolds. They selected a site one mile north 
of the present location, and Maj. William Ramsey donated 
twenty-six acres for the site. The county seat was at first 
called Hatchie, but in 1824 the present site was selected and 
was called Bolivar in honor of Simon Bolivar, the patriot and 
liberator of Venezuela. Major Ramsey and Colonel Polk gave 
fifty acres for the new town site. 

The first teacher in the county was, perhaps, Henry Thomp¬ 
son. Early papers were the Palladium, The Sentinel, and 
Free Press. 

Bolivar is the home of the Western Hospital for the Insane. 

Statistics of Hardeman County: population, 1920, 22,278. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $9,282,472. 
Area, 640 square miles. Number of farms, 3,535. Railway 
mileage, 95. Borders on the Mississippi River and is drained 
by the Big Hatchie. Its surface is nearly level and in sections 
covered with fine timber. Soil is fertile, and it is one of the 
best cotton producing counties. Other staples are corn and 
hay. Traversed by Illinois Central, Southern, and N. C. & 
St. E. Railroads. Bolivar, the county seat, is on the Illinois 
Central, 18 miles south of Jackson and has a population of 
1,031, with good schools and churches, weekly newspaper, two 
banks, and manufacturing and commercial establishments. 
Scholastic population of county, 8,414; high schools, 6; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 104. 


HARDIN COUNTY 

H ARDIN COUNTY lies partly in Middle Tennessee and 
mostly in West Tennessee. It was formed on Novem¬ 
ber 13, 1819, from the Western District and extended to 
the Mississippi River. It was named in honor of Col. Joseph 
Hardin. Colonel Hardin came from Roane County in 1815 
with a grant for 2,000 acres of land for services as a colonel in 
the Revolutionary War. On the east bank of the Tennessee 
River, at Horse Creek, near Savannah, he located his land, 
settled there in 1818 or 1819 and established the nucleus for 
the county soon afterwards named for him. 




110 


Counties of Tennessee 


His sons and daughters soon settled there, as did the 
Brazletons, Goodens, Thackers, Courtneys, Garners, Dicksons, 
Dorans, Duckworths, Cherrys, Kincannons, Sloans, Wil¬ 
liamses, Boyds, Wisdoms, Rosses, Shannons, and others. 

The first Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was organ¬ 
ized in January, 1820, by the following-named magistrates: 
Isham Cherry, David Kincannon, James Barnes, Samuel Har¬ 
bour, and Joseph McMahan. The first county officers were: 
Henry Mahar, ranger; Joseph McMahan, trustee; James 
Barnes, register; Stephen Roach, coroner. 

The commissioners appointed for the purpose located the 
county seat in the approximate center of the county and called 
it Hardinsville, later known as Oldtown, where the county 
government functioned until 1830, when it was moved to 
Savannah, then called Rudd’s Ferry, and a log courthouse was 
built. This courthouse was soon replaced by a brick structure. 

The most outstanding event in the history of this county 
was the battle of Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, which was 
fought on the west bank of the Tennessee River on April 6 
and 7, 1862. The National Cemetery is maintained at Pitts¬ 
burg Landing and the Shiloh National Park, consisting of 
several thousand acres, in charge of DeLong Rice, is one of 
the most attractive and well-kept parks in the nation. 

Statistics of Hardin County: population, 1920, 17,291. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $5,665,008. Area, 
587 square miles. Number of farms, 2,907. Railway mileage, 
none. Borders on Alabama and Mississippi and intersected by 
Tennessee River, which is navigable the year round. Western 
portion generally level, while eastern portion is hilly, with 
fertile valleys. Eastern part well timbered. Staple products 
are cotton, corn, and live stock. Savannah, the county seat, is 
on the Tennessee River and has a population of 758, excellent 
schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, two banks, and 
prosperous mercantile establishments. Congress has estab¬ 
lished a national park at Shiloh, the scene of a battle during 
the Civil War. Scholastic population of county, 5,915; high 
schools, 6; elementary schools, 77. 



Counties of Tennessee 


111 


HAYWOOD COUNTY 


H AYWOOD COUNTY was erected on November 3, 1823, 
from the Western District and was named in honor of 
Judge John Haywood. 

The first settler was Col. Richard Nixon who came from 
North Carolina in 1821. His grandson, Richard J. Nixon, was 
the first white child born in the county. Between 1821 and 
1826 the following settled in the Nixon neighborhood: Gen. 
William Conner, Jesse Mauldin, John Saunderlin, and Nicholas 
T. Perkins. Colonel Nixon's father, a Revolutionary soldier, 
received for his services a grant of 3,600 acres in Haywood 
County. He located his home on Nixon Creek, four miles east 
of Brownsville. 


Such was Nixon's prominence that his house is mentioned 
in the act creating the county as the place of meeting of the 
courts until provision otherwise should be made by law. Here, 
on March 8, 1824, was organized the first Court of Pleas and 
Quarter Sessions with the following magistrates in attend¬ 
ance: Richard Nixon, Clarence McGuire, Nicholas T. Perkins, 
Jonathan T. Jaycocks, Willie Dodd, B. H. Sanders, David 
Jeffries, and Blackman Coleman. Richard Nixon was elected 
chairman; B. H. Sanders, clerk; John G. Caruthers, sheriff; 
William H. Henderson, register; Richard Nixon, trustee; 
Jonathan T. Jaycocks, ranger; and Julius Sanders, coroner. 

The commissioners “to select and set apart a site for the 
seat of justice” were: James Fentress, Benjamin Reynolds, 
and Robert Jetton. To them Thomas M. Johnson deeded 
fifty acres on December 14, 1824, for the county site, which 
was named Brownsville. The first courthouse, built in 1824- 
1825, was of logs and once imprisoned the notorious John A. 
Murrell, who escaped from it. It was succeeded by one of 
brick in 1845. 

Statistics of Haywood County: population, 1920, 25,386. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $10,816,331. 
Area, 570 square miles. Number of farms, 4,359. Railway 
mileage, 29. Drained by the Hatchie and Forked Deer Rivers. 
Surface nearly level with an abundant supply of timber. Soil 
fertile and capable of great diversification of crops. Fruit 
growing is a profitable business. Staple products are cotton, 
corn, fruit, grass, and live stock. The L. & N. Railway passes 
through the county. Brownsville, the county seat, has a popu¬ 
lation of 3,062 and is on the L. & N. Railroad. It has good 
schools and churches, manufacturing establishments, a weekly 
newspaper, two banks, and is an important shipping point for 



112 


Counties of Tennessee 


cotton. Scholastic population of county, 9,332; high schools, 
17; elementary schools, 76. 


HENDERSON COUNTY 


H ENDERSON COUNTY was erected on November 7, 
1821, from the Western District and named in honor of 
Col. James Henderson. 

The earliest settler was Joseph Reel who, in 1818, located 
on Beech River, about five miles east of Lexington. Not long 
after this Abner Taylor located near the site of Lexington. 

The first execution in the county was that of a slave woman 
who drowned the daughter of Dr. John A. Wilson. 

Lexington was selected as the county seat in 1822 on land 
previously owned by Samuel Wilson. 

Statistics of Henderson County: population, 1920, 18,436. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $6,561,186. Area, 
530 square miles. Number of farms, 3,290. Railway mileage, 
42. Drained by tributaries of the Tennessee River. Surface 
generally level and well timbered in some portions. Soil is 
fertile in valleys and river bottoms. Leading product is cot¬ 
ton, and other staples are corn, grass, and live stock. Lex¬ 
ington, the county seat, has a population of 1,792 and is on the 
N. C. & St. L. Railroad, which traverses the county. It has 
good schools, churches, two weekly newspapers, two banks, 
electric light plant, stave factory, and a number of prosperous 
stores. Scholastic population of county, 8,198; high schools, 
1; elementary schools, 85. 


HENRY COUNTY 


H ENRY COUNTY was erected on November 7,1821, from 
the Western District and named in honor of Patrick 
Henry. 

John B. House was the first settler in 1819. Other early 
settlers were: Joel and Wiliis Hagler, James Williams, Wil¬ 
liam Wyatt, Rev. Benjamin Peoples, Rev. John Mauly, Abra¬ 
ham and William Walters, James Hicks, William Jones, 
Johannon Smith, Henry Wall, Reuben Bomar, William Porter, 
Thomas Grey, Jesse Paschal, James and R. D. Caldwell, Sam¬ 
uel Rogers, Adam Rome, Henry Humphreys, Lonis and Sam¬ 
uel McCorkle, Alex Harmon, Col. Richard Porter, Hugh W. 
Dunlap, John Brown, John Young, James and David D. Greer, 
and Dr. Jacob Brazwell. 






Counties of Tennessee 


113 


The first session of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Ses¬ 
sions was held at the house of Peter Wall on the first Monday 
in December, 1821. 

Paris was laid out early in 1823 by commissioners appoint¬ 
ed by the Legislature on lands secured from Joseph Blythe 
and Peter Ruff. The first courthouse was built of logs. 

The bench and bar of Henry County have included many 
distinguished men, among them being Joshua Haskell, Wil¬ 
liam R. Harris, L. N. Hawkins, Jas. D. Porter, Andrew Mc- 
Campbell, A. G. Hawkins, H. W. Dunlap, William Arnold, 
Isham G. Harris, Will C. Dunlap, Sol C. Brazwell, Edwin 
Fitzgerald, and Tom C. Rye. Other distinguished citizens 
are: John W. Crockett, eldest son of David Crockett, a mem¬ 
ber of Congress, 1837-1841; Howell E. Jackson, justice of the 
Supreme Court of the United States; John D. C. Atkins, Con¬ 
gressman of the United States in 1837, and also of the Con¬ 
federate States and again, after the war, Congressman of 
the United State for five consecutive terms; Dr. E. W. Grove, 
the millionaire medicine manufacturer; Rev. Irl R. Hicks, the 
“storm prophet” of St. Louis; Porter Dunlap, State Treasurer, 
1915-1919, and now a member of the State Utilities Commis¬ 
sion. 

Statistics of Henry County: population, 1920, 27,151. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $16,555,918. Area, 
580 square miles. Number of farms, 4,286. Railway mileage, 
60. County borders on Kentucky and is bounded on the east 
by the Tennessee River. Surface generally level and well 
timbered in some portions. Staple produces are cotton, corn, 
wheat, tobacco, peanuts, and oats. Well adapted to truck¬ 
growing, which is a profitable industry. Poultry business is 
profitable. Intersected by the L. &. N. and the N. C. & St. L- 
Railways. Paris, the county seat, has a population of 4,740. 
Fine public and private schools, good churches, two weekly 
newspapers, three banks, manufacturing establishments, and 
prosperous stores. Has electric light plant and water works. 
Other town are Henry, Springville, Puryear, and Whitlock. 
Scholastic population of county, 9,005; high schools, 10; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 100. 




114 


Counties of Tennessee 


LAKE COUNTY 

L AKE COUNTY was erected on June 9, 1870, from a part 
of Obion County and named for Reelfoot Lake. 

The earliest settlers in the county were probably 
Richard Meriwether, Robert Nolen, and Frank Longley, who 
located before 1825. 

The first county court was held in Atheneum Hall in Tip- 
tonville, which was chosen as the county seat on September 
5, 1870. 

The great outstanding feature of Lake County is Reelfoot 
Lake. This lake was formed during the earthquake convul¬ 
sions of the winter of 1811-1812. It is about 18 miles long and 
from three-fourths of a mile to three miles in width. It is one" 
of the most noted places in this country for fishing and hunt¬ 
ing. 

Statistics of Lake County: population, 1920, 9,075. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,779,841. Area, 
210 square miles. Number of farms, 850. Railway mileage, 
24. County is bordered on the north by Kentucky and lies be¬ 
tween Reelfoot Lake and the Mississippi River. The county 
is well timbered. The soil is fertile, and staple products are 
cotton, corn, and hogs. Tiptonville, the county seat, is on the 
Mississippi River and has a population of about 1,000. It has 
good schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, two banks, 
and prosperous business establishments. Scholastic popula¬ 
tion of county, 3,728; high schools, 2; elementary schools, 25. 


LAUDERDALE COUNTY 


L AUDERDALE COUNTY was erected on November 24, 
1835, from parts of Dyer, Tipton, and Haywood Counties, 
and was named “in honor of and to perpetuate the mem¬ 
ory of Col. James Lauderdale, who fell at the battle of New 
Orleans on the night of December 23, 1814.” 

The first activities of white men looking to future settle¬ 
ments in what was ultimately to be Lauderdale County were 
exerted by Henry Rutherford in 1785. He located the famous 
“Key Corner” in that year and his surveys covered the famous 
part of Lauderdale, Crockett, and Haywood Counties. Al¬ 
though he and his brother John, sons of the famous Gen. 
Griffith Rutherford, both settled in this county at a later day, 
it is said that the first permanent settler was Benjamin Porter, 
who located in April, 1820, having brought his effects on a flat- 




Counties of Tennessee 


115 


boat up the Forked Deer River. His son, Benjamin Porter, 
Jr., was the first white child born in the county. 

Fulton, the oldest town in the county, was laid out in 1827 
by James Trimble. Fulton was for some years a serious 
rival of Memphis. 

The next oldest town, Durhamville, was established by 
Col. Thomas Durham in 1829. 

The commissioners appointed to select the county seat 
named it Ripley, in honor of General Ripley of the War of 
1812. On February 24, 1835, the commissioners, Howell Tay¬ 
lor, Nicholas T. Perkins, and David Hay, purchased from 
Thomas Brown 62^2 acres on which the town of Ripley was 
laid out by Abel H. Pope. It is located about seven miles east 
of the center of the county. The first church was Turner's 
Chapel, established in 1829, near Durhamville, by Rev. William 
Taylor. 

The first school was taught by Mrs. Edith Kinley at her 
home near Double Bridges. 

The first newspaper was the Ripley Gazette, established 
about 1860 by Mr. Youngblood. 

Statistics of Lauderdale County: population, 1920, 21,494. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $15,266,680. 
Area, 450 square miles. Number of farms, 3,406. Railway 
mileage, 26. Bounded on the west by the Mississippi River 
and drained by smaller streams. Surface nearly level, with a 
good growth of timber. Soil fertile, and the county is a large 
producer of cotton. Other staple products are corn, fruit, and 
live stock. The Illinois Central Railroad passes through the 
county. Ripley, the county seat, on the Illinois Central Rail¬ 
road, has a population of 2,070. It has good schools and 
churches, a weekly newspaper, 4 banks, and manufacturing 
and commercial establishments. Henning and Halls are other 
towns in the county. Scholastic population of county, 9,587; 
' high schools, 5; elementary schools, 68. 


MADISON COUNTY 

M ADISON COUNTY was erected on November 7, 1821, 
from the Western District and was named in honor of 
President James Madison. The earliest settlers, how¬ 
ever, arrived during the preceding two or three years. Among 
them were: James Cockrill, J. H. Regan, Adam Huntsman, 
James Brown, John T. Porter, Joseph Lynn, Robert H. Dyer, 
and Adam R. Alexander, the last named in charge of the Land 




116 


Counties of Tennessee 


Office of the Tenth District. All these located in the vicinity 
of Jackson. 

On December 17, 1821, the county was organized by the 
following named commissioners who constituted the first 
court of the county: Adam R. Alexander, Bartholomew G. 
Stewart, David Jarvett, William Atchison, Robert H. Dyer, 
John Thomas, Duncan Mclvor, Joseph Lynn, James Trous¬ 
dale, Herndon Harelson, William Braden, Samuel Taylor, and 
William Woolfork. Herndon Harelson was chosen chairman: 
Roderick Mclvor, clerk; Thomas Shannon, sheriff; John T. 
Porter, register; James Brown, ranger; William Atchison, 
trustee; William Griffin, coroner; George White, John Fore, 
Elijah Jones, and William Doak, constables. Henry L. Gray, 
Alexander B. Bradford, and Robert Hughes qualified as at¬ 
torneys. 

The first courthouse was completed in September, 1822. 
Jackson, the county seat, named for Andrew Jackson, was 
located on the lands of Daniel Shannon, W. E. Butler, Joseph 
Phillips, and John McNairy. It was incorporated on Decem¬ 
ber 16, 1845. Its first mayor was R. J. Hays; its first post¬ 
master, Samuel Taylor; its first newspaper, the Gazette, 
founded on May 25, 1824, by Charles D. McLean, Elijah Bige¬ 
low and Ed Hays. 

Early attorneys were: John Wyatt, Adam Huntsman, Mil- 
ton Brown, Benjamin Gillispie, A. L. Martin, Stokely D. Hays, 
Micajah Bullock, J. S. Allen, Hugh W. Dunlap, Andrew Mc- 
Campbell, and M. A. McKenzie. 

The numerous mounds in Madison County indicate that 
this section was once the home of a populous community of 
prehistoric people. 

The sale of lots in the town of Jackson began July 4, 1822, 
and lasted about one week. Joseph Lynn was allowed twenty 
dollars for whisky furnished at the sale to encourage bidding. 
The first purchasers of lots were George Todd, Herndon 
Harelson, Mark Fisher, Duncan Mclver, William Broden, Wil¬ 
son McClellan, James McKnight, Vincent Harelson, David 
Horton, J. H. Ball, Isaac Curry, William Espy, Alex. B. Brad¬ 
ford, W. L. Flaner, James Burress, James K. Polk, S. F. Gray, 
S. C. Crofton, Roderick Mclver, and M. Leggett. James K. 
Polk bought three lots, costing the aggregate sum of $582. 

Madison County furnished to the Seminole War of 1836 a 
company called The Grays, commanded by Capt. Jesse Mc¬ 
Mahon; also troops to the Mexican War. 

Statistics of Madison County: population, 1920, 4,824. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $25,793,119. Area, 



Counties of Tennessee 


117 


520 square miles. Number of farms, 4,467. Railway mileage, 
115. Intersected by the Forked Deer River. Its surface is 
generally level. Soil very fertile, and staple products are cot¬ 
ton, corn, fruits, vegetables, and live stock. The Illinois Cen¬ 
tral, the Mobile and Ohio, and the N. C. & St. L. Railroads 
traverse the county. A large cotton mill is located at Bemis, 
near Jackson, employing a large number of operators. Jackson, 
the county seat, with a population of 18,860, is a flourishing 
city with the facilities of the three railroads named. It has 
large manufacturing interests and is a jobbing center for a 
large territory. Jackson has fine private and public schools 
and is noted as an educational center. It has daily and weekly 
newspapers and other large publishing interests. An artesian 
waterworks system owned by the city supplies the city with 
water. Scholastic population of county, 16,783; high schools, 
14; elementary schools, 100. 


McNAIRY COUNTY 

M 2 NAIRY COUNTY was erected on October 8, 1823, 
from a part of Hardin County and named in honor of 
John McNairy, whom President Washington had ap¬ 
pointed one of the three judges of the Southwest Territory. 
The act creating this county directed that the first courts 
should be held at the house of Abel V. Maury, near the center 
of the county. At the first session of the court of Pleas and 
Quarter sessions held on the second Monday in January, 1824, 
a commission was appointed which selected for the county 
seat Purdy, named for John Purdy, a surveyor in the service 
of the government. Judge Joshua Haskell presided over this 
court which elected the following officials: Henry S. Wilson, 
sheriff; Joseph Barnett, clerk; Michael Cross, circuit court 
clerk; William Maury, register; Benjamin Rice, surveyor; 
Robert M. Owens, trustee. 

The first white child born was Hugh Kerby, in 1821. 

The first store was owned by John Chambers and Matt 

Griffith. . - ,« r 

In 1855, the citizens of Purdy successfully resisted the ef¬ 
forts of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company to build their 
road through their town, which action caused a gradual decline 
in the place, so that when, in 1870, an effort was made to move 
the county seat to the railroad many favored the project. How¬ 
ever, the effort was not crowned with success until 18JO, when 
P. H. Thrasher gave the county a courthouse located at belmer. 




118 


Counties of Tennessee 


Strong characters of the early days were: Col. James War¬ 
ren, Gen. John H. Meeks, William G. Jopling, John G. Gooch, 
and Maj. Benjamin Wright who fought in the battle of 
Tohopeka. 

The first church organization in the county was Bethel, in 
1828. This was a Presbyterian Church and was soon followed 
by the Baptist Church at Gravel Hill. 

In 1857, Isaac Nash began in Purdy the publication of the 
West Tennessee Argus, the first paper published in the county. 
Two of the most eminent men whom this county has produced 
were John V. Wright and Col. D. M. Wisdom. 

Statistics of McNairy County: population, 1920, 18,350. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $6,829,882. Area, 
550 square miles. Number of farms, 3,263. Railway mileage, 
42. Drained by the Hatchie River and affluents of the Ten¬ 
nessee. Part of the county is level, and in some portions of 
the county there is a fine growth of timber. Staple products 
are cotton, corn, and hogs. The Mobile and Ohio and the 
Southern Railway traverse the county. Selmer, the county 
seat, is on the M. & O. Railroad, 35 miles south of Jackson. It 
has good schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, 3 banks, 
prosperous business establishments, and a population of 546. 
Scholastic population of county, 6,127; high schools, 6; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 109. 


OBION COUNTY 

O BION COUNTY was erected on October 24, 1823, from 
the Western District and named for the Obion River. 
The first settler was Elisha Parker who located in 1819 
in the northeast part of the county near the Weakley Countv 
line. 

The first court in accordance with the act creating the 
county met at the house of William M. Wilson on January 19, 
1824. This location was about three miles west of Troy, which 
was selected by the commissioners in 1825 as the county seat 
and which was laid out on land donated by William Polk. 

The sessions of the court continued to be held at Wilson’s 
home until the county courthouse was built at Troy in 1824. 

Union City was laid out in 1854 on the land of Gen. G. W. 
Gibbs. It was incorporated in 1861, the first mayor having 
been Thomas Ray, and is now the county seat. One of the 
first resident attorneys was Charles McAlister. In 1842, S. W. 
Cochran, from Ohio, located in Troy and became one of the 




Counties of Tennessee 


119 


leading attorneys in that part of the state. Other early lawyers 
of Troy were: John C. Hawkins, J. W. Buford, T. C. Swanson, 
Thomas R. Shearon. Early lawyers of Union City were: 
D. D. Bell, Charles N. Gibbs, and William B. Gibbs. 

Statistics of Obion County: population, 1920, 28,393. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $29,793,421. Area, 
540 square miles. Number of farms, 3,378. Railway mileage, 
73. This county is bordered on the north by Kentucky and 
on the west by Reelfoot Take and is one of the richest agri¬ 
cultural counties in the state. Surface nearly level, and there 
is a plentiful supply of timber. The soil is rich and fertile, 
and staple products are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, and live 
stock. One of the best wheat-producing counties in the state. 
Intersected by the Illinois Central, the Mobile and Ohio, and 
the N. C. & St. L. Railroads. Union City, the county seat, has 
a population of 4,412 and is a flourishing town with fine schools 
and churches, various manufacturing establishments, up-to- 
date stores, two weekly newspapers, two banks, lumber mills, 
railroad shops, etc. Other towns are Kenton, Obion, and Troy. 
Scholastic population of county, 10,500; high schools, 11; ele¬ 
mentary schools, 85. 


SHELBY COUNTY 

S HELBY COUNTY was erected on November 24, 1819, 
from Hardin County and named “in honor and to per¬ 
petuate the name of Isaac Shelby, late governor of Ken¬ 
tucky.” A large part of the land now comprising the city of 
Memphis was originally granted by the State of North Caro¬ 
lina in 1783 to John Rice, who, in 1791, was killed by Indians 
while on a trading expedition in the vicinity of Clarksville. 
In 1794, Judge John Overton bought from Elisha Wright, the 
brother of John Wright, the five thousand acres of the Rice 
tract for five hundred dollars and, on the next day, transferred 
a half interest in it to Andrew Jackson, between whom and 
himself a beautiful and tender affection existed. Jackson, how¬ 
ever, sold his interest before the property was developed. A 
part of his interest was conveyed to Gen. James Winchester, 
who named the prospective metropolis Memphis because of 
supposed resemblences to the ancient city of Memphis, Egypt. 
Memphis was laid out by Judge Overton and incorporated 

in 1826 or 1827. 

Marcus B. Winchester, a son of Gen. James Winchester, 
was the first mayor. Between him and Isaac Rawlings existed 
a bitter rivalry for many years. Rawlings had been a sutler 




120 


Counties of Tennessee 


with Jackson’s army in 1813, and also an Indian agent. He 
was the first magistrate of Shelby County, holding the office 
without either election or appointment, but by common con¬ 
sent. He was a prominent and picturesque figure and suc¬ 
ceeded Winchester as the second mayor of Memphis and was 
re-elected several times. 

Keating, in his valuable “History of Memphis,” says that 
no other American city was laid out on so generous a scale as 
was the case with Memphis according to the plans of Over- 
ton and Winchester; that every emergency in the life of a 
leading commercial point seemed to be provided for. It 
seemed to have everything except religious organizations, for 
there was not a church in Memphis until 1827, although it is 
believed that there were several within the boundaries of the 
county. The first religious services were held in the court¬ 
house by Methodist circuit riders of whom the earliest was 
Elijah Coffee, who came in March, 1822, in a flatboat. A 
small meeting house was erected in the court square in 1826. 

Keating says, “After the preacher came the press,” refer¬ 
ring to the fact that Phebus founded the first newspaper, 
called The Memphis Advocate. The first number appeared 
January 18, 1827. 

In the early days of the existence of Memphis conditions 
were very rough. J. J. Rawlings said that when he went to 
Memphis in 1824 there was no such thing as society. “Noth¬ 
ing that deserved that name. There were a few boys or young 
men, adventurers, uncontrolled by any restrictions; no preach¬ 
ers, no ladies to visit; they ran riot as they pleased.” 

Whisky was twenty-five cents a gallon, and horse racing 
was the favorite past time. 

In 1827 the county court was removed to Raleigh, which 
then became the county seat, a fact which aroused much in¬ 
dignation in Memphis. In that year an epidemic of dengue, 
or breakbone fever, broke out, followed next year by the first 
appearance of yellow fever. In 1828, also, South Memphis 
was organized as a separate municipality and for several years 
a rivalry between it and Fort Pickering, on the one hand, and 
Memphis on the other, was carried on with extreme bitterness. 
There was also keen rivalry between Memphis and Randolph. 
But, beginning with 1829, when stage coach service was es¬ 
tablished to Memphis as a center for important eastern points, 
the supremacy of that city was incontestable. The first rail¬ 
road was the Memphis and LaGrange, begun in 1838 and 
never finished. 





121 


Counties of Tennessee 


The first public road in Shelby County was ordered marked 
out by the county court in May, 1820. 

The Nashoba Venture 

Perhaps the first effort in Tennessee for the benefit of the 
many made by an individual, influenced by pure altruism, was 
inaugurated by Fanny Wright at “Nashoba,” near Memphis, in 
1825. With her own funds, alone, she bought a tract of 1,940 
acres located on Wolf River, northeast of Memphis, and 
erected on it a school for Negroes whom she hoped to educate 
to prepare them for citizenship before setting them free. 
Strange as it may seem to many at the present day, she en¬ 
countered little opposition and, on her list of trustees she had 
strong names, some even illustrious. They were: General 
La Fayette, William McClure, Robert Owen, Cadwallader D. 
Colden, Richardson Whitby, Robert Jennings, Robert Dale 
Owen, George Flowery, Camilla Wright, and James Richard¬ 
son. She wished to give an object lesson in gradual emanci¬ 
pation. It was not at all that any instruction should inculcate 
the idea of social equality between the two races, nor did she 
have any sympathy with the professional abolitionists. She 
traveled over the South in the interest of her venture stating 
that her remedies for the evils of slavery were gradual eman¬ 
cipation and industrial education. Her school lasted several 
years. When she realized she would be compelled to abandon 
the project she chartered a vessel and herself accompanied her 
Negroes to Hayti where she set them free. The trustees, in 
1831, restored the property to her. 

Statistics of Shelby County: population, 1920, 223,216. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $273,256,558. Area, 
728 square miles. Number of farms, 8,204. Railway mileage, 
231. Bounded on the west by the Mississippi River, on the 
south by the Mississippi River, and intersected by the Loosa- 
hatchie and Wolf Rivers. Surface is level and portions well 
timbered. Soil is very rich and fertile, and one of the best 
cotton-producing counties. Staple products are cotton, corn, 
lumber, and hogs. Memphis, the county seat and the largest 
city in the state, has a population of 162,351. It is an im¬ 
portant rail and river shipping point, being the largest inland 
cotton market in the country. Two fine bridges cross the Mis¬ 
sissippi at Memphis. Has fine system of streets and sewers, 
and is supplied with water from a fine system of artesian wells. 
It is a large manufacturing point and is the jobbing center for 
a large territory, including states of the south and southwest. 
It is a large lumber market and also an important market for 





122 


Counties of Tennessee 


mules and horses. It is the center of the cotton seed oil in¬ 
dustry in the South and the largest cotton seed oil market in 
the world. It is a rapidly growing city, and growing in im¬ 
portance as a manufacturing and distributing point. Has 
three daily newspapers and various other periodicals and large 
publishing interests, fine public and private schools, splendid 
banking facilities. The West Tennessee Normal is located at 
Memphis. Scholastic population of county, 68,654; high 
schools, 19; elementary schools, 141. 


TIPTON COUNTY 

T IPTON COUNTY was erected on October 29, 1823, from 
the Western District and named “in memory of Capt. 
Jacob Tipton, who fell at St. Clair’s defeat.” By the act 
which created this county provision was made that the county 
and circuit court should meet at the house of Nathan Hart- 
field, until otherwise provided for by law. Among the early 
pioneers were Gen. Jacob Tipton, son of Capt. Jacob Tipton, 
Dr. Hold, Captain Scurry, Major Lauderdale, George W. 
Frazier, K. H. Douglass, and Jesse Benton, brother of Senator 
Thomas H. Benton. Jesse Benton lived at Randolph and was 
very active in promoting the interests of that place which 
posed as a rival to Memphis, and which became a very im¬ 
portant center of trade for all the western section except the 
counties of Shelby and Fayette. 

Covington was selected as the county seat, which was 
located on land donated by John C. McLemore and Tyree 
Rhodes. In 1852 an effort was made to remove the county 
seat from Covington to Randolph, but it failed by a small vote. 

Statistics of Tipton County: population, 1920, 30,258. As¬ 
sessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $15,074,391. Area, 
400 square miles. Number of farms, 5,271. Railway mileage, 
27. Bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. The soil is 
fertile and surface level except for a range of hills near the 
river. Well timbered and watered by running streams and 
artesian wells. Cotton, corn, wheat, oats, fruits, vegetables, 
and live stock are staple products. Traversed by the L. & N. 
and the Illinois Central Railroads. Covington, the county seat, 
has a population of 3,410 and has fine churches and schools, a 
weekly newspaper, three banks, electric light plant and water 
works, cotton mill, cottonseed oil mill and other manufactur¬ 
ing enterprises, and is a flourishing town. Brighton, Atoka, 
and Tipton are other towns. Scholastic population of county, 
10,703; high schools, 11; elementary schools, 78. 




Counties of Tennessee 


123 


WEAKLEY COUNTY 


W EAKLEY COUNTY was erected on October 21, 1823, 
from the Western District and was named in honor 
of Col. Robert Weakley, one of the most prominent 
men of the early pioneers of Middle Tennessee, a member of 
Tennessee’s first Legislature and Speaker of the State Senate 
in 1823. 

Provision was made in the act which created this county 
that the sessions of this county and circuit courts should be 
held at the house of John Tyrrell until otherwise provided for 
by law. 

The first settlers were: Reuben Edmonston and John Brad¬ 
shaw, brothers-in-law, who located on Mud Creek in 1819. 
Alexander Paschal arrived in 1822 and was considered well- 
to-do, as his wife had seven dresses. The first cabin was built 
by John Bradshaw. The county was organized in 1825 and 
Dresden was selected as the county seat and laid out in that 
same year. The first courthouse was completed in 1827 and 
the first session of the court held in it in 1828. Prior to this 
time some of the sessions of the court had been held in the 
house of Benjamin Bondurant in Dresden. 

Early members of the bar were: A. G. Bondurant, Henry 
A. Semple, John A. Garner, S. A. Warner, and John Grundy, 
son of Felix Grundy. Emerson Etheridge, the famous orator, 
was a resident of Dresden. 

Early physicians were: Drs. T. C. Edwards, Joseph Irby, 
and Jubilee Rogers. 

Early preachers were: Thomas Ross, Gilliland Holland, 
and Lorenzo D. Overall. 

Weakley County furnished eleven companies to the Con¬ 
federate Army and four companies to the Federal Army. 
Martin was established in 1873 and incorporated in 1874. 

Statistics of Weakley County: population, 1920, 31,053. 
Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $21,969,965. 
Area, 620 square miles. Number of farms, 5,050. Railway 
mileage, 51. Drained by the Obion River. The surface is 
generally level and the soil fertile. Staple products are cot¬ 
ton, tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, fruits, vegetables, and live 
stock. The N. C. & St. L. Railway and the Illinois Central 
Railway traverse the county. Dresden, the count seat, has 
a population of 1,007, good schools and churches, lumber mills, 
stave factory, tannery, a weekly newspaper, three banks, and 
is a flourishing town. Martin, another prosperous town at the 



124 


Counties of Tennessee 


junction of the railroad, has a population of 2,837, good schools 
and churches, manufacturing establishments, prosperous 
stores, a weekly newspaper, and three banks. Scholastic popu¬ 
lation of county, 10,914; high schools, 15; elementary schools, 
91. 














































































